Misuses of state facility to rise: Observer
Misuses of state facility to rise: Observer
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Misuses of state facilities are likely to be the most common
election violations, according to the Elections Supervisory
Committee (Panwaslu) and the Elections Advocacy Analysis
Institute (LKAP).
LKAP director Eko Prasojo said on Tuesday that misuses of
state facilities would account for around 40 percent of
violations in the upcoming elections, compared to 5.5 percent in
the 1999 elections.
"Instances in which state facilities are improperly used are
part of the efforts of parties currently in power to maintain
power," he said.
Indonesia will hold its general election on April 5, with the
campaign period running from March 11 until April 1. A total of
24 political parties will contest the general election. The
presidential election is scheduled for July 5, with a possible
runoff on Sept. 20.
Deputy chairman of Panwaslu Saut H. Sirait said that LKAP had
conducted a study of possible election violations at the request
of Panwaslu.
Eko claimed that political parties that could potentially
misuse state facilities during the campaign period included the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and Golkar.
"Misuses of state facilities would be in line with the total
votes obtained by political parties in the 1999 elections," he
said.
In the 1999 elections, PDI-P obtained the most votes, followed
by Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), the National
Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN), and the
Crescent Star Party (PBB).
According to Eko, state officials that are also executives of
political parties would use several methods to misuse state
facilities for their own interests.
Among those methods were: making important decisions that
benefited their political parties, using state facilities
directly, such as official cars, treating other parties unfairly,
and using official visits to other regions for campaign purposes.
Separately, the Coalition against Violence toward Journalists
(KAKTW) issued a statement on Tuesday that violence during the
elections must be avoided at all costs.