Numerous Regional Heads Caught in OTTs, ICW Highlights Political Costs and Weak Oversight

JAKARTA - Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has highlighted the proliferation of sting operations (OTT) targeting regional heads by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in early 2026. At least six regional heads have already been caught in KPK’s OTTs, adding to the long list of regional officials from the 2024 regional elections embroiled in corruption cases. According to Seira, the root cause of these numerous cases lies in the issue of high-cost politics. “The problem of high-cost politics is indeed inseparable from the many corruption cases ensnaring politicians, including regional heads. This can be seen from the fact that corruption proceeds from regional heads are used for campaign needs or even to pay off campaign debts,” Seira stated in her remarks on Monday (13/4/2026). Seira cited the case involving former Lampung Regent Ardito Wijaya, who admitted to demanding a 15-20 percent project fee, resulting in total receipts of Rp 5.75 billion. According to ICW, the high costs of regional elections are not fully reflected in official campaign fund reports. This is suspected because much of the expenditure is allocated to illegal practices, such as political dowries to parties and money politics. The oversight factor is also deemed contributory. Seira assesses that the weak independence of the Government Internal Supervisory Apparatus (APIP) renders the control function suboptimal.