Jakarta – The Jakarta High Court on Tuesday overturned a controversial ruling by a district court ordering a delay in the 2024 general elections at the request of a relatively unknown political party.

According to the verdict, the high court accepted an appeal by the General Election Commission or KPU to overturn the controversial ruling and return all election phases back to the original schedule.

The high court panel accepted the argument that "the Central Jakarta District Court has no competence to try" election disputes, let alone issue a ruling to delay the process, reported news broadcaster BTV.

"Any legal dispute [regarding the elections] must be settled by Bawaslu [the General Election Oversight Body], the PTUN [State Administrative Court], or the Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, the settlement of allegations of the breach of ethics is the absolute competence of the DKPP [Election Organizers' Ethics Council]," Presiding Judge Sugeng Riyono said while reading out the verdict.

The district court ruling issued on March 2 was welcomed with outrage by all sides of the political spectrum, including incumbent parties, the government, the KPU, legal experts, and scholars.

Indonesia is gearing up for colossal elections in which the president, governors, mayors, regents, senators, and legislative councilors at all levels will be elected in the same year for the first time in the country's history.

But the Central Jakarta District Court accepted a lawsuit by the People's Justice Prosperous Party, or Prima, against the KPU seeking a repeat of the selection process after the debutant party was disqualified for failing to meet requirements.

The court argued that the KPU decision was unfairly made against Prima and ordered the commission to halt the current phase of the election and return to the initial phase, namely the verification process.

It orders the KPU "to halt executing the remaining phase of the 2024 general elections since the day the verdict is read out and to carry out the initial phase of the general elections for two years, four months, and seven days."

It would mean that the historic elections should go beyond 2024 and reset to the very beginning of the whole process.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/appeal-court-overturns-election-delay-rulin