Campaign laws 'full of loopholes'

Campaign laws 'full of loopholes'

A. Junaidi and Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta

Various loopholes in the campaign regulations are not only
providing presidential candidates with ample opportunity to try
to influence voters with gifts, but also making it difficult to
properly punish them, according to experts.

The General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) and a
legal expert agreed on Thursday that little can be done to deal
with the many "gray areas" in what constitutes buying votes.

The rulings say that presidential candidates found guilty of
trying to buy votes will not only be instantly disqualified, but
will also face a maximum sentence of 12 months and a maximum fine
of Rp 10 million (US$1,176).

Yet, the handing out of basic commodities to low-income
people, along with free medical services, transportation fees and
other "donations" during the campaign -- all of which could be
considered illegal -- has been going on with impunity on a daily
basis nationwide, and is reportedly being done by all five
presidential candidates' campaign activists.

They have been called "sympathetic campaigns" by the
organizers.

The presidential election law states that candidates and their
running mates or their campaign team members "are forbidden from
promising or/and giving money or other forms of material items to
influence voters."

Free medical service is neither money nor a material item --
unless one counts the pills handed out to patients -- and the
candidates would say they had no intention of influencing voters.

Audience members at campaign rallies have come to expect
"transportation fees" enough, say, for a week's transportation,
regardless of whether they intend to even vote on July 5.

"Ethically, many cases could be categorized as 'money
politics', but legally they could not been handled as such,"
Panwaslu chairman Komarudin Hidayat told legislators during a
meeting with the House Commission II on legal affairs. He was
responding to questions of why there was little, if any, action
being taken despite many reports of suspected irregularities from
various election watchdogs.

Didik Supriyanto, a Panwaslu member, said that the campaign
regulations only defined "money politics" as handing over cash or
material items during an actual campaign event.

"So if money (or other handouts) are given outside the rally
venue or a day earlier or later, legally it would not be a
violation," Didik explained. He added that the regulations did
not mention the current trend of family members of candidates
donating money to charity foundations or schools.

Noted legal expert Frans Hendra Winarta blamed "years of
unhealthy processes of democratization" and the fact that
politicians "had no qualms" in abusing the legal loopholes.

"Money politics ultimately comes down to political ethics.
Even if the regulations contain loopholes, it would not happen if
they possessed a high degree of political ethics.

"It's impossible for us to create a perfect ruling without any
loopholes, especially when we're still in an early stage of
democracy," said Frans.

But the rampant reports of trying to influence voters with
handouts "will show us that improvements must be made -- be it in
the form of regulations or in learning about ethics -- if we want
to have a better form of democracy."

Those involved in it may easily get away with their actions,
but Frans warned of the prospect of the real punishment from the
voters.