Reconstructing the Constitutional Boundaries of the Noken Electoral System in Papua: Customary Consensus and Electoral Integrity

Fritz Edward Siregar; Suviana Suwoto Mulyosudarmo

doi:10.47268/sasi.v32i4.4072

Authors

Fritz Edward Siregar ✉ Universitas Pancasila , Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8379-8078
Suviana Suwoto Mulyosudarmo Universitas Dr. Soetomo , Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47268/sasi.v32i4.4072

Keywords:

Noken Electoral System, Constitutional Democracy, Customary Law, Legal Pluralism, Electoral Integrity

Abstract

Introduction: The Noken electoral system represents a distinctive form of customary electoral practice in Papua that has been accommodated within Indonesia's constitutional and electoral framework. Its communal decision-making mechanism, however, raises questions concerning individual suffrage, electoral equality, ballot secrecy, and electoral integrity.

Purposes of the Research: This study examines the constitutional status of the Noken electoral system and determines the legal boundaries for reconciling customary communal consensus with the principles of constitutional democracy.

Methods of the Research: This study employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and case approaches. Primary legal materials include the 1945 Constitution, electoral regulations, and Constitutional Court decisions concerning the Noken system, complemented by scholarly literature on customary law, legal pluralism, and deliberative democracy. The materials are analyzed through qualitative legal interpretation and constitutional harmonization.

Results of the Research: The study finds that constitutional recognition of the Noken system cannot be understood as an unconditional exemption from electoral principles. Its legitimacy depends on the continuing existence of genuine customary consensus and its compatibility with constitutional rights and electoral integrity. The study proposes a conditional accommodation model based on territorial continuity, authentic communal deliberation, informed and voluntary participation, documented consensus, independent electoral supervision, and effective remedies against coercion and manipulation. Conclusion: The Noken system may be constitutionally accommodated as a form of legal pluralism, but its application requires enforceable legal boundaries. Where customary consensus is demonstrably replaced by coercion, vote buying, or systematic manipulation, the state should activate a legally defined transition mechanism toward the standard voting system.

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