Indonesia probes potential leak of election system verdict

Indonesia‘s Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security, Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin, has called for an investigation into a potential leak involving a Constitutional Court verdict that could alter the country’s parliamentary election system. This comes after former deputy justice minister, Denny Indrayana, claimed that the court had repealed the current “open-list proportional representation” system for Indonesia’s parliamentary elections.

Indrayana stated that he received information from a highly credible source that the Constitutional Court would rule in favour of returning to the “closed proportional system,” which was replaced in 2009 due to widespread criticism. Under the closed system, voters could only vote for a political party, rather than a specific candidate.

Fajar Laksono, a spokesperson for the Constitutional Court, said that the judges had not yet begun deliberating on their final verdict and would do so on May 31 after the plaintiffs and the government submitted their closing arguments. Laksono questioned how a verdict could be leaked if it had not yet been deliberated.

Coordinating Minister Mahfud urged the police to investigate Indrayana’s claims, stating that a Constitutional Court verdict should not be leaked before it is made public. He expressed concern that the information from Indrayana could set a bad precedent and amount to the leak of classified state documents.

National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo confirmed that the police would follow up on Mahfud’s instruction, saying, “We are discussing steps that we can take in order to make everything clear. Of course, if there is a crime involved, we will take further steps.”

Indonesians are set to vote in the upcoming elections on February 14 next year, where they will simultaneously elect the country’s next president, members of parliament, and several regional leaders, reports Channel News Asia.