Judges in Indonesia’s Constitutional Court Express Displeasure over Delay by Bupati Candidate
In a turning point during a court session, the Chairman of the Constitutional Court (MK), Suhartoyo, expressed his displeasure over the tardiness of one of the candidates for Bupati. This incident took place in Panel 2 of the MK’s building in Central Jakarta on Thursday, January 9, 2025, and was part of the dispute over the results of the local elections.
The session began with Suhartoyo calling the candidate, Vicky Prasetyo, but Vicky was not present. Unfazed, Suhartoyo moved on to calling the next petitioner. After all petitioners had presented their cases, Suhartoyo summoned Vicky once more, this time with his legal counsel.
However, despite Suhartoyo’s call, Vicky and his legal counsel failed to appear. In response, Suhartoyo postponed the session, stating, "Let’s adjourn for 5 minutes." Several minutes later, Vicky finally entered the courtroom. Suhartoyo promptly resumed the session and questioned Vicky about the delay.
"I apologize, Your Honor, I’ve been on the road from Bekasi for the past three hours," Vicky explained. Accepting the apology, Suhartoyo proceeded to outline the agenda for the day, stating that the session would focus on hearing the key points of the petitioners’ arguments.