For Immediate Release
Contact: Deborah Hakes, 404-420-5124
The Carter Center commends Indonesia's Constitutional Court for their timely handling disputes relating to election results for the April 9, 2009 legislative elections. 595 cases related to disputed election results were filed during a 72 hour filing period after the announcement of results on May 9, 2009. The Court, which began case hearings on May 18, released the final case judgments on June 24, 2009.
Carter Center observers, who met regularly with members of the Court and were present at both the opening and closing of the filing period, reported favorably on the organization and competence of the Court. The Carter Center notes that the Court took significant efforts to meet the 30 day adjudication period provided by law, by postponing all non-election related cases and hearing upwards of 150 disputes daily. The Center views the timely resolution of disputes as an indication of the strength of Indonesia's judicial dispute resolution processes and urges continued commitment to legal adjudication of disputes by all contestants in the July 8, 2009, presidential elections.
The Carter Center deployed observers for a limited observation mission to Indonesia in advance of the April 9, 2009, legislative elections. Rather than assessing the overall electoral process, the limited mission focused on several key issues including electoral dispute resolution mechanisms. This is the fourth post-election statement released by the mission; a previous report detailing the Center's findings on Indonesia's electoral dispute resolution processes, including the role of the Court, election supervisory bodies, the KPU, and the police, was released on May 21, 2009.
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Carter Center Launches Limited Election Observation Mission to Indonesia, March 25, 2009 >>
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