Election Court Ruling to Cause Problems: Politician

Jakarta (Antara) - A politician from the Hunura Party has stated that the recent Constitutional Court ruling on simultaneous elections in 2019 may create problems in this year's elections. "Parties that lose the elections this year and are not satisfied with the results of the legislative and presidential elections may question the legitimacy of the elections," pointed out Syarifuddin Sudding when asked to comment on the ruling, here, on Friday. The Constitutional Court has approved the examination of Law No. 42 of 2008 on the Election of the President and Vice-President and the legislative election, as filed by the Civil Society Coalition for Elections, led by Effendi Gazali. On Thursday, it issued a ruling that "general elections will be held simultaneously in 2019." Sudding explained that because of the ruling, the election this year will have no legal umbrella, and so, it could became "unconstitutional, and parties who lose in this election could later create trouble." He deplored the Constitutional Court's decision that the ruling will not be implemented this year. Sudding pointed out that "only the parliament and the government can postpone the implementation of a law." He also deplored the Constitutional Court's reason for the postponement of the ruling until 2019, calling it a technicality. "If the reason is purely technical, then such technical reasons can undermine the Constitution," he reasoned. (*)