ULM Political Observer Highlights Banjarbaru PSU and Proposal to Replace KPU-Bawaslu
Banjarmasin – After the Constitutional Court (MK) decided to hold a revote (PSU) for the Banjarbaru City Pilkada on Monday (24/2/2025), public attention is now focused on the role of election organizers, namely the Banjarbaru General Election Commission (KPU) and the Banjarbaru Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu).
In addition to facing the Constitutional Court’s decision, the Banjarbaru KPU is also being investigated by the Election Organizer Honorary Council (DKPP) for alleged violations of the Election Organizer Code of Ethics (KEPP). The trial for case Number 25-PKE-DKPP/I/2025 was held in the DKPP Main Courtroom, Jakarta, on Friday (24/1/2025). Until now, there has been no official decision regarding the case involving the Chairperson of the Banjarbaru KPU, Dahtiar, and four other commissioners, namely Resty Fatma Sari, Normadina, Hereyanto, and Haris Fadhillah.
The plaintiff in this case is Said Abdullah, who is one of the candidates for Deputy Mayor of Banjarbaru in the 2024 Pilkada. He sued the Banjarbaru KPU for annulling his participation in the contest.
Responding to this situation, a political observer from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) of Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM), Taufik Arbain, highlighted the importance of maintaining public trust in election organizers. According to him, the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding the PSU is not the only aspect that must be considered, but also non-legal aspects that affect political stability in Banjarbaru.
“The DKPP must make decisions that can strengthen public trust in election organizers. It is not enough to just carry out the PSU, but there must also be strategic policies to maintain the integrity of the democratic process,” he said.
Taufik also proposed a discretionary policy in the form of replacing all KPU and Bawaslu Banjarbaru commissioners as a quick and strategic step in addressing this problem.
“It would be inappropriate if the PSU was still held without any change of organizers, while the main point of the lawsuit actually came from the KPU’s decision itself,” he said.
However, he still appreciated the Constitutional Court’s decision ordering the PSU as a form of respect for the democratic process. He also emphasized the importance of all parties, including the community and candidate pair teams, to continue to uphold democratic principles during the PSU process.
“True democracy can be seen from how we are able to respect the election process, including the rights of candidate pairs in making efforts to invite the public to vote,” he said.
Taufik also reminded of the potential for negative framing that could disrupt the democratic process, so that supervision of the PSU process is not only focused on candidate pairs, but also on parties who try to create negative narratives in the public space.
“KPUD and Bawaslu must return to their basic functions as neutral and fair organizers in the Pilkada.
“This is a big test for democracy in Banjarbaru,” concluded the doctor who graduated from UGM’s FISIP.
