Political Parties are Responsible

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

A cardboard box emblazoned with a statement opposing former corruption convicts being candidates is displayed by activists of the Civil Society Coalition for the Clean Elections on a visit to present an open letter to the General Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) in Jakarta on Friday (31/8/2018). In the letter, the activists deplored Bawaslu’s decision in a number of regions to allow former corruption convicts to run for election.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Political parties are responsible for mass corruption committed by members of the Regional Legislative Councils (DPRDs) in a number of regions. Political parties can now take responsibility by not nominating former convicts of corruption in the 2019 general election.

After 41 members of the Malang DPRD were named suspects by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), testimonies at trials have opened the possibility that all members of the Jambi Provincial DPRD for the 2014-2019 period also received money for the meetings that ratified the provincial budget.

Previously, 50 members of the North Sumatra Provincial DPRD for the 2014-2019 and 2009-2014 periods were also legally processed by the KPK. In 2015, the KPK also legally processed 10 members of the Musi Banyuasin Regency DPRD for the 2014-2019 period.

"That fact proves that Indonesian politics is limited to procedural democracy and bases itself simply on political rights. Politics and democracy ignores the values and morality of the nation that exist in this country based on religion, Pancasila, and the noble culture of the nation," said general chairman of the central executive board of Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir when contacted from Jakarta on Friday (7/9/2018).

Ironically, the political parties where the legislative members come from seem less responsible for this problem. This can be seen from a number of political parties that continue to support a number of corruption convicts as legislative candidates in the 2019 General Election. The political parties also do not prohibit legislative candidates from filing disputes to the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) as to why their names were dropped by the General Elections Commission (KPU). In fact, political parties have signed an integrity pact not to back people sent to prison for corruption as legislative candidates.

Ironically, Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a lecturer at the School of Law at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, said Bawaslu granted a number of disputes filed by the former corruption convicts because their names were deleted by the KPU from the legislative candidate list.

Based on data from the Civil Society Coalition for Clean Elections, there have been at least 24 Bawaslu decisions in 22 regions that allowed 29 legislative candidates that were imprisoned for corruption to go ahead with their candidacy.

Postponed

KPU commissioner Viryan Aziz said the KPU had sent letters to all provincial and regency/city KPU offices throughout Indonesia. The content of the letter is reminds them to obey the results of the adjudication between the KPU, Bawaslu and the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) regarding the delay in the nomination of legislative candidates of corruption convicts, drug dealers and child abusers.

In the DKPP, KPU and Bawaslu meetings, two options were made available related to the former corruption convicts, who had been allowed to go ahead with their candidacy in the regions. First, the DKPP will send a letter to the Supreme Court to immediately issue a verdict related to the judicial review of KPU Regulation No. 20/2018 on the candidacy of legislative members before the fixed candidate list is decided on Sept. 20. Second, the KPU and Bawaslu will approach political parties to comply with the signed integrity pact not to nominate former prisoners.

Viryan also said on Thursday that the KPU had sent letters to the leaders of political parties to comply with the integrity pact that had been signed.

(BOW/DIA/NSA/ITA/IAN/APA)