Mayor quizzed over alleged poll violation

Mayor quizzed over alleged poll violation

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon

The Cirebon Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) has made
good on its promise and questioned on Thursday Cirebon Mayor
Subardi over an alleged campaign violation.

Subardi was accused of failing to take leave while campaigning
for President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Hasyim Muzadi on Sept.
16, the third day of the election run-off campaign period.

"The Panwaslu will hold a plenary meeting after the
questioning. If he is found guilty, then we will file a report
with police for further investigation," Wasikin Marzuki, the
Cirebon Panwaslu chairman, told reporters after a two-hour
preliminary questioning on Thursday.

Subardi was asked 40 questions during the closed-door session
on his alleged illegal campaigning for Megawati and Hasyim at the
Women's Building in Cirebon.

The Cirebon Panwaslu decided to question Subardi regarding his
activities after discovering a video compact disc (VCD) showing
him participating in a campaign held on Sept. 16 at the building.

Subardi is shown in the footage officiating the establishment
of the Mega-Hasyim Campaign Forum, as well as appealing to people
gathered at the campaign to vote for Megawati-Hasyim.

The activity was considered a violation of the election law
because Subardi had breached the impartiality principle and did
not take leave from his official post to campaign.

During the questioning, the Panwaslu charged him with
violating Article 40 of Presidential Elections Law No. 23/2003,
which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

The article states that "government officials are prohibited
from making decisions or behaving in a manner during the campaign
period that could favor a presidential or vice presidential
candidate".

The Panwaslu had earlier questioned four witnesses in
connection with the case, including Aim Mustaqiem, a district
polling committee member, and businessman Oteng Sugiarto.

Emerging from the questioning, Subardi told reporters that he
had participated in the campaign in a personal capacity.

He said he had not used state facilities during the campaign,
including his official car, and claimed he had attended the
campaign during a daily break.

However, Subardi admitted to urging people to vote for
Megawati and Hasyim during the campaign.