Bawaslu Reports Not To Steal Campaigns During A Resess And Socialization Of Regional Regulations

Illustration. Rows of campaign props for legislative candidates in front of Galuh Stadium, Ciamis, West Java, November 2018. (Between-Adeng Bustomi)

The General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) reminded legislators not to take advantage of the recess period to campaign in disguise. Including during national socialization and socialization of regional regulations (perda).

"Actually, the democratic agenda uses government funds, which means it is not justified to do any kind related to the political party campaign because the campaign must be carried out according to the time, date, and place set by the General Elections Commission (KPU)," said Chairman of the Bawaslu of East Kalimantan Province (Kaltim) Hari Darmanto in Samarinda, Thursday, February 2, confiscated by Antara.

He said campaigns were an activity of conveying vision and mission in various ways regulated by law. That means, everyone who will run for legislative election participants must carry out campaign terms.

Thus, members of the East Kalimantan DPRD or districts and cities who are candidates for the incumbent legislative elections may not campaign during the recess period. The logo that should have been installed is the symbol of the DPRD or the government and the face of the legislator himself without inserting the party logo.

Hari explained that based on Article 492 of Law 7/2017, the action of carrying out campaigns outside the schedule set by the KPU could be classified as an election crime so that there were consequences that had to be borne.

The article also reads that everyone who deliberately carries out election campaigns outside the schedule set by the KPU, provincial KPU, and district/city KPU for each election participant as referred to in Article 276 paragraph (2) shall be punished with imprisonment for a maximum of one year and a maximum fine of IDR 12 million.

He emphasized that if members of the East Kalimantan council carry out state functions such as recesses, of course, they cannot prohibit it.

"But if there are irregularities in the field in the form of asking for support or directing the public to choose the person concerned, of course Bawaslu and the election supervisory committee (panwas) will take action," said Hari.

Hari said that if recesses were misused for campaigns, it was clearly a violation because it was the same as using state facilities for campaigns. This can be categorized as undermining the democratic process so that the sanctions are criminal and ethical violations.

He admitted that he had met with Commission I of the East Kalimantan DPRD to discuss the vulnerability of the violation. Bawaslu will write to the DPRD regarding the ban on campaign insertion in conducting recess activities.

In addition, he said, his party has formed a sub-district supervisory committee and will recruit village/village panwaslu so that supervision will be more intensive.