Election Dispute Hearing: Palace Stresses No Synchronization With Summoned Ministers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential Special Staff on Legal Affairs Dini Purwono ensures that there is no synchronization between the president and the four ministers summoned for the election dispute hearing at the  Constitutional Court. The Presidential Palace emphasized that the government is not a related party in the dispute over the presidential election results.

The Constitutional Court scheduled the summoning of several members of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi's cabinet on Friday, April 5, 2024. This summoning was decided by Chief Justice Suhartoyo at the end of the hearing on Monday afternoon, following concerns raised by the applicants about Jokowi's intervention in the presidential election.

The ministers are Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs Muhadjir Effendy, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani, and Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini.

Dini Purnowo, in a message on Tuesday, said that the Constitutional Court has the right to summon anyone whom it deems necessary.

"There is no synchronization," Dini said. "Those summoned are individuals, ministers who are deemed important by the Constitutional Court to be heard. So the ministers are welcomed to provide statements before the court.”

The government, said Dini, hopes that the Constitutional Court can gain a fuller understanding of policy background and implementation with the presence of the four ministers. Dini said the Indonesian government did not form any special team for the election dispute hearing.

The summoning of the ministers was based on the results of a judge's meeting yesterday morning. Suhartoyo said five parties were categorized as important by the Court. He emphasized that this summoning did not mean that the Constitutional Court accommodated the requests of applicants, Anies-Muhaimin and Ganjar-Mahfud.

As is known, the two parties asked in the previous hearing for the Court to present several ministers, such as Sri Mulyani and Risma, to provide testimony in the trial. "So the four ministers are summoned fully for the benefit of the judges,” Suhartoyo concluded.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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