KPU and Bawaslu Commissioners Reported to DKPP: A Smuggled Article in PKPU 19/2023?

The Election Organizer Ethics Council (DKPP) has received a complaint against commissioners of the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) for the 2022–2027 term. The report, filed by Themis Indonesia Law Firm together with the Dewi Keadilan Foundation on Friday (9/10), highlights alleged ethical violations in the drafting of KPU Regulation (PKPU) Number 19 of 2023 on the Nomination of Candidates for the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election.

The regulation became a crucial instrument that allowed Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as vice president in the 2024 election. The complainants argue there were procedural irregularities that were not merely administrative but potentially violated the principles of transparency and accountability of election organizers.

Associate at Themis Indonesia, Ibnu Syamsu Hidayat, said his firm found significant differences between the draft discussed in the public consultation and the hearing (RDP) and the final harmonized version. "There was an article that never appeared in the public consultation or the RDP, but suddenly appeared in the harmonization," he said at the DKPP office in Jakarta.

Ibnu stressed that his firm is demanding honesty from election organizers. According to him, the differing versions of the rule governing nomination requirements are not merely a technical matter but concern the integrity of the democratic process. "We are asking for clarity and honesty from the KPU and Bawaslu on this matter," he said.

"In the public consultation, the RDP, and the harmonization, an article suddenly appeared. This needs to be explained to the public," said Ibnu Syamsu Hidayat, Associate at Themis Indonesia.

Article 18 paragraph 3 of PKPU 19/2023 reads: "The graduation certificate referred to in paragraph (1) letter m is exempted for a presidential or vice presidential candidate who does not have a high school graduation certificate from a foreign school abroad and already holds a university degree." This formulation became the legal basis for Gibran, who attended secondary school in Singapore and earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Technology Sydney.

Previously, the Constitutional Court (MK) read out its ruling in case number 01/PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026 on Tuesday (6/10) evening. The MK stated that the petitioners lacked legal standing and had no authority to disqualify Gibran as Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia. The MK left the follow-up on this matter to relevant institutions, including the DKPP.

The petitioners in the case included the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP), Partai Ummat, former Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Denny Indrayana, and six citizens grouped in the TNI Retired Soldiers Forum: M Subhan, Bonatua Silalahi, and Tiurma MS Sihombing. Although their lawsuit failed at the MK, the report to the DKPP opens a new avenue to test the ethics of election organizers.

The complaint to the DKPP is a test of the credibility of the KPU and Bawaslu amid growing public scrutiny of the neutrality of election organizers. If the DKPP finds an ethical violation, sanctions may range from a warning to permanent dismissal. However, the process also risks prolonging a political controversy that has already been resolved constitutionally.

The public now awaits the DKPP's move: will the institution prove its independence by examining the allegation of a smuggled article, or will it instead reinforce the perception that election organizers are hard to touch? The answer to that question will determine how far trust in the integrity of the 2024 election can be maintained.