Poll officials jailed in vote-rigging case<\/p>\n
Ruslan Sangadji, The Jakarta Post\/Palu<\/p>\n
A District Court in Palu, Central Sulawesi sentenced on Thursday
\ntwo officials of the Donggala General Elections Commission (KPUD)
\nto nine and six months' imprisonment, respectively for vote-
\nrigging in the April 5 legislative election.<\/p>\n
KPUD chairman Abdullah Mallabang and another employee M.
\nThamrin, were also fined Rp 100 million (US$11,111) after being
\nfound guilty of inflating the votes of the Pioneer Party to
\n13,450 from 3,139.<\/p>\n
The crime allowed the party to secure a seat on the Central
\nSulawesi provincial legislative council, but caused the
\nProsperous Justice Party (PKS) to lose a seat on the council.<\/p>\n
It is not clear whether the PKS, which brought the vote-
\nrigging case to trial, will gain a seat after the verdict.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of PKS supporters packed the courtroom during the
\ntrial presided over by judge Muhammad Taufik. Many of them
\nshouted \"Allahu Akbar (God is Great)\" and immediately kneeled for
\nprayers shortly after hearing the verdict.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors had demanded 11 and nine months in jail for
\nAbdullah and Thamrin, respectively.<\/p>\n
Abdullah did not say if he would appeal or not. -- JP<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/poll-officials-jailed-in-vote-rigging-case-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }