Bawaslu Encourages Revision Of KPU Rules So That Candidates For Regional Heads Violating The COVID-19 Protocol Are Firmly Sanctioned

JAKARTA - The Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) regrets the absence of strict sanctions rules for violators of health protocols in the 2020 regional elections. Bawaslu suggested improvements to KPU Regulation Number 6 of 2020 which regulates the implementation of elections in non-natural disaster conditions COVID-19.

"Our problem is that PKPU No. 6/2020 does not regulate the types of administrative sanctions. This may need to be corrected so that there will be strict sanctions for violations of health protocols," said Ratna Dewi Pettalolo in a webinar discussion, Tuesday, September 15.

In fact, according to Dewi, there are options for a number of strict sanctions that can be imposed for violators of health protocols. Among them are the cancellation as a candidate for regional head as applied if there is a violation of money politics.

"Then there is an oral warning sanction, then a written warning of stopping campaign activities, fines, temporary deactivation of organizers, and disqualification of candidate pairs," said Ratna.

Due to the absence of this sanction regulation, Bawaslu cannot impose strict sanctions when it finds a violation of health protocols during the registration period for prospective pairs of candidates.

"If there is no type of administrative sanction, it is against the principle of legality, with the imposition of sanctions. Because we cannot punish someone without any prior regulation," said Ratna.

So far, said Ratna, the action that Bawaslu can take is to give direct or written warnings to prospective pairs of candidates who violate health protocols. It also forwarded 243 recorded health protocol violations to the police.

According to Ratna, only law enforcement officers can impose heavier sanctions, namely criminal. The criminal threat is included in Law Number 4 of 1984 concerning Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Law Number 6 of 2018 concerning Health Quarantine.

"This is an indication for us that in relation to the general prevention and control of COVID-19, the authorities are given the authority to enforce the law because it is strictly regulated in the law," added Ratna.