Regarding Anies-Ganjar Proposing The Right To Assessment Presidential Election, Mahfud Answers This

Vice Presidential Candidate number 3, Mahfud MD and his successor, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto (right) held a closed meeting in Jakarta, Thursday, February 22, 2024. (ANTARA PHOTO-Rivan Awal Lingga)

JAKARTA - Vice Presidential Candidate number 3, Mahfud MD was reluctant to comment on the right to inquiry proposed by his partner, presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo regarding the implementation of the 2024 presidential election.

Mahfud emphasized that the issue of the right of inquiry is not the matter of the candidate pair, but the realm of political parties.

"I don't know because the right of inquiry is not a matter for candidate pairs. That's party business," Mahfud said in response to reporters' questions when met at his home, Jakarta, Thursday, February 22, which was confiscated by Antara.

He also chose not to take care of the matter. "I don't know and I don't want to know either," he added.

Mahfud also said that there is no obligation for candidate pairs to take care of the proposed right of inquiry.

"I will not comment on the right of inquiry, the right of interpellation. It's a matter of parties what they don't want. If I don't want to, nor do I have no interest in talking about it. I only deliver candidate pairs, if the candidate pair arrives, there will be a final deposit from the KPU, this is legal, already," he said.

Candidate Ganjar proposed the right of inquiry and the right of interpellation for the 2024 General Election which included the presidential and legislative elections when holding a meeting with the winning team in Jakarta on February 15, 2024.

He again conveyed this in a written broadcast on February 19, 2024. "If the DPR is not ready with the right of inquiry, I encourage the use of the DPR's right to interpellate to criticize fraud in the 2024 presidential election," said Ganjar in his written broadcast.

The right of inquiry is the right of the DPR RI to investigate the implementation of a law or government policy related to important, strategic, and broad impact on the life of society, nation and state, which is suspected to be contrary to statutory regulations.

So far, Ganjar's proposal has been welcomed by the PDI-P (PDIP) and PPP. However, for political parties supporting candidate pair number 2, for example the Golkar Party and the Democratic Party, parties in the ranks of Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka rejected the proposal.

Meanwhile, presidential candidate number 1 Anies Baswedan admitted that he had heard about Ganjar wanting to open the door to communication with the AMIN pair for the use of the DPR's right to inquiry.

Anies also emphasized that his party is ready to roll out the right of inquiry in the DPR regarding the alleged fraud in the 2024 presidential election.

"We heard that we would do (the DPR's right to inquiry), we saw that there was a good initiative and when Pak Ganjar conveyed his desire to do the inquiry," said Anies, Tuesday, February 20.