General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Ilham Saputra (right) watches a KPU staffer on Tuesday (31/7) as she checks the registration documents of House of Representatives candidates at KPU headquarters in Jakarta. The KPU stayed open until midnight to receive revised registration documents for candidates of the 2019 general elections.
It is ironic to see that political parties keep nominating individuals formerly imprisoned for corruption as candidates to the legislature, when corruption is a national disease.
Meanwhile, several political party elites have opposed the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) ban on former corruption convicts from running as legislative candidates, arguing that no law exists that prohibits former corruption convicts from being nominated. They also say that no court has ruled to remove the right to engage in political activity for former corruption convicts. Another argument says that prohibiting former corruption convicts from running for the legislature is a violation of human rights.
Still, KPU Regulation No. 20/2018 prohibits individuals that have been convicted for corruption, child sexual abuse and drug crimes from running in the 2019 general elections. It also mandates political party leaders to sign a “pact of integrity”, in which they promise not to nominate people that fall into the above restrictions as legislative candidates.
The initial stage of the candidate verification process relies on the KPU\'s discretion to select candidates that could form a representative institution that is clean and honest, although this may not follow the General Elections Law to the letter. Data shows that many legislators – former and current – of the House or the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) have been involved or implicated in corruption cases. This is alarming.
The problem is that a number of political parties are still nominating former corruption convicts as legislative candidates, backed by a number of arguments. According to this daily, 186 individuals convicted of corruption have been nominated. However, the fact remains that party leaders have signed the integrity pact and declared that they would not nominate any former corruption convicts. This situation is certainly problematic, ethically and morally, especially regarding the political parties’ honesty.
As of July 31, the General Elections Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) was thus forced into the position to appeal to party leaders to replace nominees that are former corruption convicts. That letter was never delivered. After the deadline, no room is given for political parties to replace the ineligible nominees. Several nominees have filed a lawsuit against the KPU regulation at the Supreme Court (MA), which is their right. Let the court decide. This case will test state institutions’ commitment to the anti-corruption drive.
KPU Regulation No. 20/2018 is a signal for all parties to present candidates that possess integrity and honesty and are free from corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN). That is the spirit of reform that gave rise to the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. XI/MPR/1998 on a state administration that is clean and free from KKN.
We share the expectation. There is no political advantage for parties that desperately try to nominate former corruption convicts as their legislative candidates. We could even call such a move as political suicide. It is better for the parties to replace the former corruption convicts they have nominated to the
House and DPRD. We are grateful that some political parties have begun correcting their error by replacing the problematic nominees.
If a party does not remove the names of problematic candidates, however, we urge the KPU to simply cut these former corrupt convicts from the candidates list.
/https%3A%2F%2Fkompas.id%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F08%2F20180731AIC11.jpg){kind=logo}
