Commission chairman cautious about vote-buying allegations<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The General Elections Commission (KPU) emphasized on Friday that
\nall vote-buying allegations leveled at presidential candidates
\nmust be supported by strong evidence.<\/p>\n
KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin said only where there was
\nsolid evidence could the Election Supervisory Committee
\n(Panwaslu) bring the case to trial, otherwise the allegations
\ncould be considered slanderous.<\/p>\n
\"Until now, the KPU has not received any reports on
\nallegations of vote buying involving presidential candidates. But
\nfor those who have evidence please report to us and we will
\nexamine whether it is authentic,\" Nazaruddin said.<\/p>\n
KPU member Hamid Awaluddin said the public should report to
\nPanwaslu if they find any indication of vote buying.<\/p>\n
\"It is not possible for the KPU to conduct its own
\ninvestigation into the allegations and we call on the public to
\nresort to Panwaslu should they find such evidence. It is Panwaslu
\nthat handles these cases,\" he said.<\/p>\n
KPU officials were commenting on recent reports by the
\nIndonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and Indonesian Transparency
\nInternational (TI) which said that all presidential candidates
\nhad practiced vote buying, with Wiranto of the Golkar Party
\ntopping the list of vote-buyers.<\/p>\n
Golkar has denied the allegations.<\/p>\n
Presidential candidate of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI-P), the incumbent, President Megawati Soekarnoputri
\nwas found to have misused state facilities the most.<\/p>\n
The NGOs also said candidates had deliberately set up a
\nspecial team in charge of vote buying.<\/p>\n
Member of the Megawati-Hasyim's team Heri Akhmadi said that
\nthe TI and ICW reports were flawed and exaggerated. \"How can a
\nblood donation program and the distribution of stickers and books
\ncontaining our candidate's manifesto be considered money
\npolitics, that's absurd,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
In the TI report, Megawati and Hasyim were alleged to have
\nspent Rp 17,525,000 two weeks into the campaign trail, mainly on
\nthe blood donation program and the distribution of stickers and
\nother campaign materials.<\/p>\n
Heri said the mushrooming organizations in support of Megawati
\nand Hasyim were beyond the reach of his team as they were
\ninitiated by Megawati's die-hard supporters.<\/p>\n
Member of the campaign team of National Mandate Party
\ncandidates Amien Rais and Siswono Yudohusodo, J. Geovanie, lauded
\nthe NGOs' report, saying it would help the public assess the
\nquality of candidates.<\/p>\n
\"However, they should be more accurate and objective in
\npresenting the facts as it is doubtful our team has bought votes.
\nWe are the poorest among all candidates' teams,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the KPU, Panwaslu and NGOs should reach a consensus on
\nwhat constituted vote buying.<\/p>\n
A member of the Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla team, Ali
\nMochtar, refuted the vote-buying allegations and demanded that
\nthe NGOs come up with evidence.<\/p>\n
\"We did donate Rp 8 million for the construction of a mosque,
\nbut there were no strings attached,\" he told the Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/commission-chairman-cautious-about-vote-buying-allegations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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