Team probes local election funds

Team probes local election funds

JAKARTA: The government has set up an integrated team to investigate possible misuse of funds earmarked for regional direct elections, a senior official said on Thursday.

Ministry of Religious Affairs inspector-general Seman Widjojo said the team will carry out the investigation from October to December.

The team comprises officials from Seman's office, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the Regional Supervisory Body (Bawasda).

"The results of the investigation will be announced to the public openly," Seman said.

He said the investigation will be focused on local elections commissions following findings of irregularities by poll monitoring teams in the regions.

Since June this year, Indonesia has held at least 168 direct elections for six governors, 136 regents and 26 mayors.

The Ministry of Home Affairs allocated some Rp 960 billion (US$96 million) from the state budget to finance regional elections. However, only Rp 344.3 billion had been disbursed to fund 266 elections. --Antara