Infractions decline in third week of presidential campaign<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) recorded a
\ndecline in the number of violations committed by the candidates
\nin the third week of the month-long presidential campaign.<\/p>\n
However, Panwaslu predicted that breaches of campaign
\nregulations would increase in the final week, when the candidates
\nwould be desperate to win support from prospective voters ahead
\nof the July 5 presidential election.<\/p>\n
The official supervisory committee said on Wednesday it
\nrecorded 64 offenses combined, consisting of 54 administrative
\nand 10 criminal, declining from 72 the week before.<\/p>\n
Panwaslu said the inclusion of civil servants in the
\ncampaigning was the most common criminal infraction that had
\ntaken place in the third week of campaigning.<\/p>\n
\"However, we've had difficulties finding out who induced the
\nofficials to take part in the presidential campaign,\" Panwaslu
\nmember Didik Supriyanto announced during a press briefing here.<\/p>\n
Law No. 23\/2003 on presidential elections bans state officials
\nfrom campaigning without leave but it does not say whether their
\npresence at a rally is a violation.<\/p>\n
The law stipulates that the parties who asked or ordered the
\nstate officials to be involved in campaigning could be prosecuted
\nwhile the bureaucrats could face administrative penalties.<\/p>\n
At the top of the list of violators were the National Mandate
\nParty's (PAN) Amien Rais and Siswono Yudhohusodo with 19 offenses
\nconsisting of five administrative and four criminal infractions,
\nan increase from 11 violations the week before.<\/p>\n
The Rais team has also been discovered by Panwaslu committing
\ninfractions ranging from campaigning outside the designated
\nschedule to including civil servants in their rallies.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri from the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and her team had the second
\nlargest number of offenses with 17, comprising 15 administrative
\nand two criminal infractions -- a decline from 25 the week
\nbefore.<\/p>\n
The Golkar Party's candidate Wiranto along with his running
\nmate Solahuddin Wahid were third with 13 infractions.<\/p>\n
Presidential frontrunner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono along with
\nhis running mate Yusuf Kalla and the pairing of the United
\nDevelopment Party's (PPP) Hamzah Haz and Agum Gumelar came in
\nfourth and fifth with nine and six infractions, respectively.<\/p>\n
Panwaslu's records show that most of the violations took place
\nin Jakarta with 12 violations, followed by Central Java where it
\nsaw 10 offenses and West Java with seven cases.<\/p>\n
Didik said that in the third week of campaigning, Panwaslu
\nreceived reports from the public about alleged vote-buying that
\ntook place during and outside the designated period. \"However, in
\nthe latter case, we would find difficulties in bringing such an
\noffense to the court,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Since the presidential campaign started on June 1, Panwaslu
\nhas registered a total of 190 offenses. The Megawati-Hasyim
\nticket has been the top violator with 56.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/infractions-decline-in-third-week-of-presidential-campaign-1447893297",
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