KPU Rejects Gibran Running-Mate Eligibility Lawsuit: Filed 905 Days Late, Formally Void
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- KPU menyatakan permohonan PHPU yang mempersoalkan syarat pencalonan Gibran Rakabuming Raka diajukan 905 hari melewati tenggat, sehingga syarat formil gugur.
- Pemohon sendiri mengakui keterlambatan dalam dokumen permohonan, yang menurut KPU menjadi bukti sempurna dan mengikat.
- MK diminta mendiskualifikasi Gibran dan membatalkan pelantikannya, namun jalan hukum pemohon terganjal batas waktu yang telah ditolak perluasannya oleh MK sebelumnya.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has asserted that the election results dispute (PHPU) questioning the validity of Gibran Rakabuming Raka's eligibility requirements as a vice-presidential candidate was filed 905 days past the deadline. The KPU made the argument at the hearing of Case No. 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday (23/9) evening, as its main rebuttal to the petition filed by several parties.
According to the KPU, the petitioners had even acknowledged the delay in writing in their petition, specifically on page 39, point 105. That admission, the KPU said, constitutes perfect and binding evidence against the party making it. Consequently, the formal requirement for filing the petition is deemed void without the need for further proof.
The KPU cited Article 475 paragraph (1) of the Election Law and Article 7 paragraph (2) of Constitutional Court Regulation No. 4 of 2023, which stipulate that a presidential election PHPU petition must be filed no later than three days after the certification of the election results. The 2024 election results were certified on 20 March 2024, so the filing deadline should have ended on 23 March 2024. However, the petition in this case was only registered on 10 September 2026.
The KPU also highlighted that the petitioners' reason of seeking justice cannot be justified if it is pursued by disregarding legal provisions that limitatively set the deadline. At the hearing, the KPU cited Constitutional Court Ruling No. 31/PUU-XXI/2023 dated 25 May 2023, in which the petitioners at the time sought to extend the deadline for filing presidential election result disputes from three days to seven days. The Constitutional Court rejected that petition. "Such a petition was rejected, let alone the a quo case that is already 905 days late," the KPU said at the hearing.
Meanwhile, the petitioners in their petitum asked the Constitutional Court to declare that the education requirement under Article 169 letter r of the Election Law is imperative and must be met at the time of registration and certification of the candidate pair. They asked that Gibran be disqualified for allegedly not meeting that education requirement. The petitioners also demanded that Gibran's certification as vice-presidential candidate be declared legally defective from the outset, that the KPU decision certifying him be annulled, and that his inauguration by the MPR be annulled. Finally, they asked the MPR to hold a vice-presidential election from two candidates proposed by the president within 60 days after the ruling is read out.
"The admission by the Petitioners in their petition constitutes perfect and binding evidence against the party making it. With that admission, the formal requirement for filing the petition is void without the need for further proof." — KPU
This case is a test for the Constitutional Court in upholding the principle of legal certainty without disregarding the sense of justice. If the Constitutional Court accepts the KPU's argument, the petition will be formally void and the substance of the case will never be touched. Conversely, if the Constitutional Court chooses to set aside the deadline, that precedent could open the door to similar lawsuits in the future, including ones challenging other election results. The public is also waiting to see whether the Constitutional Court will be consistent with its previous rulings rejecting deadline extensions, or give room for a more substantial judicial review.
