Jakarta – The Constitutional Court announced Friday the media were allowed to publish any election-related news during the campaign-free period between July 5 and 7, prior to the July 8 presidential election.
The court's ruling came in response to a judicial review filed by seven media outlets requesting the court scrap Article 47(5) and Article 57(1) and (2) of the 2008 Presidential and Vice Presidential Election Law.
Part 5 of Article 47 stipulates media outlets are banned from publishing news, advertisements, track records or any other material concerning candidates that could place them at an advantage or otherwise over other contestants.
Parts 1 and 2 of Article 57 stipulate the closure of a media outlet in violation of the law.
All nine constitutional judges, headed by court chairman Mahfud M.D., agreed to grant the review. "Article 47(5), as well as Article 57(1) and (2) of Law No. 42/2008 no longer have legal power," Mahfud told the court. He said the publishing of news was in line with the people's right to information. "Broadcasting news related to the presidential candidates will, in fact, help the voters obtain information about the candidates' track records," he said.
The seven media outlets that called for the review are Tempo magazine, Tempo daily, The Jakarta Post, Jurnal Nasional, 68H radio station, Vivanews.com and the Voice of Human Rights radio network.
The Press Legal Aid Foundation's Hendrayana, who is also the lawyer for the seven outlets, praised the Constitutional Court for "granting a victory for press freedom".
He blamed the "unconstitutional articles" in the law on lawmakers who "lacked press and media capabilities"."We hope legislators do not pass any other articles that may kill the spirit of press freedom," he told The Jakarta Post.
A previous grouping of national media groups won a similar review in the April 9 legislative elections. The Constitutional Court ruled they were allowed to cover legislators' campaigns during the campaign-free period prior to election day.
Also on Friday, the court announced its verdict on a judicial review against the same law and ruled that independent surveyors were allowed to publish preliminary polling results before the General Elections Commission (KPU) issued an official vote tally.
The review was filed by a number of surveyors grouped under the Public Opinion Research Association, requesting the court annul Articles 188, 228 and 255 of the 2008 presidential election law.
The Indonesian Survey Circle's (LSI) Denny J.A., who led the group, expressed his satisfaction with the court's ruling.
"We will conduct a preliminary count and announce the result at 4 p.m. on election day," he said. "That way, the public will know who our next president is." (bbs)