Campaign Has Not Started, Bawaslu Emphasizes Regional Heads Don't Endorse Presidential Candidates 2024

Head of the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) Rahmat Bagja emphasized that regional heads are not endorsed or promote candidates for the 2024 General Election before the campaign time begins.

"We urge regional heads not to do this, so be careful," said Bagja on the sidelines of webinar activities to increase Polwan competence in the context of the 75th Anniversary of Polwan entitled Police Precision for the Country, Policewomen Ready to Support Peaceful Election Towards Advanced Indonesia in Tribrata, South Jakarta, Tuesday, August 29, confiscated by Antara.

Bagja said that currently the 2024 election stage is still in the socialization stage, and it is only allowed to introduce a presidential candidate, not invite or campaign for the presidential candidate to be promoted.

Dalam sosialisasi itu, kata dia, memberikan keterangan kepada publik peserta pemilu dari partai politiknya. Bukan mengajak memilih calon yang diusung.

"Now that it is still in the socialization stage, the invitation is not allowed. Then introducing election participants is the time from yesterday," said Bagja.

According to him, there are already stages of elections to invite the public to choose which presidential candidates to be carried out during the campaign.

For this reason, he said, regional heads who become cadres of political parties if participating in the campaign are required to take leave from the position of regional heads or state officials.

"If you invite later in the campaign, please. Wait for the campaign later, if the regional head has to take a leave, there are limits. If the head of state is also on leave and so on," he said.

Bagja hopes that the appeal can be obeyed by all regional officials and state officials who have an affiliation of certain election participants.

Regarding the video of Gibran Rakabuming Raka and Bobby Nasution inviting the candidate for presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo from PDI-P, Bagja said his party was processing the alleged violation.

He said that his party was reviewing whether the alleged violation fulfilled the elements in Article 282 and Article 283 of the Law on Elections, because it was not only Gibran in the video, but there were many regional heads.

According to Bagja, the alleged violation has been processed in Surakarta. There are two videos that are processed, who are the regional heads in the video, apart from Gibran and Bobby.

"It's in several regional heads and then in the video it reveals the invitation. Well, that's what we hope we can do more research and also in the future what actions will be if proven to be violated," said Bagja.

According to Bagja, if proven to have violated, there will be sanctions imposed starting from administrative sanctions to criminal violations.

However, he said, his party had not yet led to sanctions because it was still in the process of alleged violations.

A video of Gibran and Bobby attaching stickers with pictures of Ganjar Pranowo and President Joko Widodo in people's homes some time ago.

Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka said the sticking of stickers was in accordance with the permission of the owner of the house, and the sticking of the sticker was carried out as a socialization of Ganjar's presidential candidate to residents.