JAKARTA (Indonesia Today) ??? Uncertainties surrounding the long-delayed Papua gubernatorial election will likely end soon after the Constitutional Court (MK) declared that Papua Election Commission (KPUD) has the authority to continue organizing the election.
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The Court on Wednesday (Sep 19) also ordered the KPUD to re-open the registration of governor and vice governor candidate pair for next 30 days. The Court, however, asks the KPUD to also accept seven candidate pairs already verified by the Papua House of Representatives (DPRD) as candidate pairs of Papua governor and vice governor. They are Menase Robert Kambu-Blasius Adolf Pakage, Welington Wenda-Weynand Watory, Habel Melkias Suwae-Ev. Yop Kogoya, Lukas Enembe-Klemen Tinal, Noakh Nawipa-Johanes Wob, John Janes Karubaba-Willy Bradus Magay, and Alex Hesegem-Marthen Kayoi pair.
The Court has on July 19 issued an interlocutory decision to order all related parties in Papua to temporary stop the implementation of the gubernatorial election stages.
The dispute between the KPUD and DPRD came to surface after the KPUD Papua has questioned the authority of DPRP and the Papuan Consultative Assembly (MRP) to handling the election stages. The KPUD argued that it???s them which actually has the authority to handling the election accordance to Article 22E paragraph 5 and 6 of the 1945 Constitution, Law No 15/2011, Law No 12/2008, and Government Regulation No 49/2008.
The KPUD then filed the lawsuit against the special bylaw N 6/2011 to the Court. According to the KPUD, the special bylaw has reducted the authority of the KPUD and it was violating the 1945 Constitution.
DPRP and MRP, in another side, has already started the implementation of the election stages based on the special bylaw (Perdasus) No 6/2011 regarding Papua gubernatorial election. DPRD and MRP has already named seven candidate pairs of governor and vice governor.
Papua gubernatorial election, actually, should have been held before the term of Barnabas Suebu and Alex Hesegem as governor and vice governor of Papua ended on July 25, 2011. Various conflicts in the province, including conflict between KPUD Papua with MRP and DPR Papua, have pushed back the election. Latest, the election was scheduled on August 14, 2012. But now, there???s no new schedule yet over the election. (haryanto@theindonesiatoday.com)