In the period April – December 2015, there were 14 Provincial Information Commissions (KI Provinces) that had entered the second period of selection, namely: Central Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, DKI Jakarta, North Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, Bali, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, North Sumatra , Central Sulawesi, Riau, DI Yogyakarta, Gorontalo, South Sulawesi, West Java and South Sumatra.
Of the 14 Provincial KIs, those that have completed the second period of selection are Central Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara, DKI Jakarta, North Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, Bali, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, DI Yogyakarta, South Sulawesi, West Java and South Sumatra. However, there are different selection processes. When other provinces carry out re-selection in accordance with the Guidelines for Selection and Determination of Provincial KI Members as stipulated in the Decree of the Chairman of the Central Information Commission of the Republic of Indonesia No. 01/KEP/KIP/III/2010. Meanwhile, in Gorontalo, the Governor immediately reappointed the incumbent Gorontalo Province KI members without going through re-selection in accordance with the Central KI Guidelines.
The re-appointment of Provincial KI members without re-selection as happened in Gorontalo has the potential to be followed by other provinces. This of course, firstly: harms the principles of good governance in the selection of Provincial KI members. Second, closes the opportunity for the best candidates to take part in the selection of Provincial KI members.
Therefore, FOINI submitted a request for judicial review to the Constitutional Court to request an interpretation of Article 33 of the KIP Law. Muhammad Djufryhard, a Gorontalo resident, stated that the re-appointment of members of the Gorontalo Province Information Commission had closed the space for public participation. “Reappointment without re-selection has hampered citizens’ constitutional rights to participate and obtain equal opportunities in government.”
Desiana Samosir, one of the applicants who is a FOINI activist, said that this judicial review was carried out so that bad precedents like what happened in Gorontalo would not happen again. “We are proposing thisJudicial review so that incidents like those in Gorontalo do not happen again. “The selection of the Information Commission must be carried out openly, in accordance with statutory procedures, and involve the active participation of citizens.”
Apart from that, FOINI lawyer, Wahyudi Djafar, said that legal certainty in the re-appointment of members of the Information Commission must be strengthened. “There must be legal certainty regarding the re-appointment of members of the Information Commission. “Therefore, we want the Constitutional Court to interpret Article 33 of the KIP Law to mean that the re-appointment of members of the Information Commission must go through a selection process as regulated in Articles 31 and 32 of the KIP Law.”
As is known, the applicants for this judicial review include: Foundation for Strengthening Participation in Indonesian Community Initiatives and Partnerships (YAPPIKA), Foundation for the Regional Research and Information Center (PATTIRO), Foundation for the Association for Elections and Democracy (PERLUDEM), Muhammad Djufryhard (Gorontalo resident), and Desiana Samosir (FOINI).
Contact Person:
Desiana Samosir (0813-6928-1962)
Wahyudi Djafar (0813-8208-3993)
