Vacation
This blog post will be two weeks combined, as I was traveling last week and could not upload the post. Two weeks ago I completed the segment of my time in Jakarta with the Constitutional Court. Admittedly, Jakarta was my least favorite destination in Indonesia. This surprised me, because I usually love being in a city. However, Jakarta is overcrowded and incorporates a confusing blend of western and local culture. That being said, I still managed to have a great time exploring the city and the Constitutional Court was a wonderful host.
At the end of my time with the Court I had the opportunity to interview Prof. Dr. Saldi Isra, a sitting justice of the Court. This was not the first time I met Prof. Dr. Saldi Isra, as Prof. Saldi is a former PUSaKO director. While in Padang, Prof. Saldi had invited to his home for dinner and he has been a gracious host. However, while in Jakarta I was much more equipped to have a serious discussion about how the Constitutional Court handles the election dispute cases that are the focus of my article. One of the main things I asked Prof. Saldi to explain was how the justices make decisions dealing with the election dispute cases. Basically, I wanted the inside perspective on what the justices talk about in their chambers after hearing one of these cases. Prof. Saldi revealed that the answer to this question is very limited. Not all nine judges hear the actual trial, but instead three preside over the trial and then meet with the other six to form a final, binding decision on behalf of the entire court. In these meetings, there is very little debate. When the Court hears a constitutional review case, there are matters of interpretation to be debated, but the election cases are much different. The standard of proof is very high for an applicant, and therefore the discussion that the judges have is strictly fact based. They review the evidence presented in the case, and mathematically determine who the winner should have been based on that evidence. The only time there is any real debate is as to whether or not the case should be heard. As I mentioned in another post, there is a margin requirement for an applicant to challenge a case. This means that in order for the Court to hear the case, the applicant (the loser in the election) must have finished within a maximum of 2% of the final vote count. There have been cases where the applicant asked for a Court decision before all voting districts had announced the vote totals, and there is some debate in the Court about whether or not to hear the case when the margin cannot be fully determined. The Court dealt with a case like this in 2017, and in the initial ruling the Court ordered all of the local election commissions to issue the final vote totals. Then the applicants could file a new case, with the margin requirement in place, to challenge those results. While Prof. Saldi explains that these are simple cases for the Court, for an outsider there are many small differences in the way this Court system works that make the process a fascinating study.
I left Jakarta for a ten-day vacation to travel around Lombok, the Gili Islands, and Bali. This trip was incredible and I discovered that I really like traveling alone. Of course there are moments where it would have been better to be traveling with a friend, but being alone forced me to branch out. As a result, I made friends that I probably never would have met and had one of the best times of my life.
I only stayed in Lombok for one day, and it really reminded me of Padang with a tropical twist. From Lombok I charted a speedboat to the Gili Islands. There are three islands in total: Gili Trawangan, Gili Air, and Gili Meno. While I made it to all three of the islands, I spent most of my time in Gili Trawangan and it was absolutely beautiful. The day I arrived, I found myself as the sixth man in a heated volleyball game between the Argentineans on my team and Brazilians on the other side of the net. People who know me know that I love a game of beach volleyball, and this was a great welcome to the island. For the next three days I went on snorkeling trips and boat cruises, and also explored the island. Gili Trawangan was by far my favorite place in Indonesia, which is controversial for a lot of people when I mention that I spent the next five days in Bali. Bali is as advertised, but I really loved the island feel of Gili Trawangan. That being said, Bali was an amazing trip as well. Bali is an interesting mix of breathtaking views and nightlife tailored to tourists. I took advantage of both, and also tried to learn how to surf. Considering I sometimes struggle to balance on a bike, it is no surprise that I stunk at it. However, after four hours of trying I caught a wave and called that a win.
Following my vacation, I will return to Padang to do final edits on my article and prepare for submission for publication. The goal is to have the article published in a Q1 international journal, but this process will extend far beyond my time in Indonesia. However, Andalas University will assist me in the submission process and we will see where the article goes. For me, the idea of publication is rewarding whether it is published in Q1 or Q4, but we will shoot for the top. For now, that means tediously perfecting the grammar and citations as well as fact-checking the content for total accuracy. I must admit that I am also excited to see my friends in Padang, but even more excited that there are only two weeks left until I get to see my family back home. I know there will be a cheesesteak waiting for me.