Jakarta. The General Election Commission (KPU) argued on Thursday that while presidential candidate Anies Baswedan is demanding a revote and the disqualification of president-elect Prabowo Subianto, he does not essentially dispute the election results.

The commission also dismissed Anies’ legal motion as “vague and absurd” and requested the Constitutional Court to declare it invalid.

Hifdzil Alim, an attorney for the KPU, said Anies’ legal motion does not accuse any discrepancies in the vote tally, which Prabowo won by 58.58 percent.

Instead, the motion is laden with accusations of nepotism, election interference by state officials, appointment of numerous regional leaders supportive of Prabowo, deployment of village heads, and misuse of state-funded assistance programs to influence voters.

"The vaguely-worded motion strays from the subject and does not precisely present any dispute regarding the outcome of the election," Hifdzil told the court.

In the context of general elections, the Constitutional Court’s primary responsibility is to settle disputes concerning election results, not allegations of procedural mishaps, which should be addressed by a different agency or court, he added.

The plaintiff's motion does not provide an alternate tally or evidence to suggest that Prabowo did not win the election. In other words, Anies does not have a case to be tried by the Constitutional Court, the attorney said.

"The motion by the plaintiff does not request the Constitutional Court to examine discrepancies in the election outcome," Hifdzil said.

Disqualification
Anies has requested Prabowo's disqualification due to the controversial appointment of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko Widodo, as Prabowo’s running mate.

Gibran, aged 37, became eligible to contest only after the Constitutional Court amended a regulation requiring presidential or vice-presidential candidates to be at least 40 years old. The court made an exception for candidates who have served or are serving in elected public offices, thereby making Gibran, the elected mayor of Solo, eligible to contest.

The ruling was issued by a panel presided over by then Chief Justice Anwar Usman, who is Gibran’s uncle. The chief justice was later removed from his position following an ethics tribunal finding him guilty of serious violations of ethics and good conduct. However, the ruling stands, and Gibran became a running mate for Prabowo in October.

Disputing the legitimacy of Gibran’s candidacy after the election is deemed absurd by the lawyer.

Neither Anies nor the other candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, lodged a formal objection with the KPU when Gibran was declared as a vice-presidential candidate before the Feb. 14 polls, Hifdzil said.

“Contrary to that, the plaintiffs have voluntarily participated in all election activities alongside [Gibran], including during the debates involving all candidates,” he argued, adding that such a gesture implies that both Anies and Ganjar essentially accepted Gibran as a fellow candidate.

"My question: Had the plaintiffs won the election, would they have raised issues regarding administrative procedures like this? Of course not. Accordingly, their argument that the KPU knowingly and unlawfully accepted [Gibran’s] candidacy has no merit whatsoever,” he concluded.

Add as a preferred source on Google +