Bawaslu Does Not Stay Silent About The Lurah Report In Bengkulu Allegedly Involved In Practical Politics

Bengkulu City PPPS Kordiv Ahmad Maskuri (ANTARA/Anggi Mayasari)

BENGKULU - The Bengkulu City General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) conducted a search regarding allegations that one of the village heads in the area was involved in practical politics during the 2024 Regional Head Election campaign.

"We have received initial information, but there is still a search by the sub-district supervisor and sub-district supervisor in Bengkulu City," said Bengkulu City Coordinator of the Division for Handling Violations and Settlement of Bawaslu Disputes in Bengkulu City, Antara, Sunday, October 13.

If the search is proven to have violated the rules of article 71 paragraph (1) of the Pilkada Law that village heads or other designations / kelurah are prohibited from making decisions and / or actions that benefit or harm one of the candidate pairs.

Then article 70 paragraph (1) letter C of the Pilkada Law that in the campaign, candidate pairs are prohibited from involving the village head or other designations/lurah and village officials or other designations/kelurahan devices.

If the village head or other government officials violate the two related articles, they will be punished with imprisonment as stipulated in Article 188 and Article 189 of the Pilkada Law.

"We will see whether the elements in Article 71 and Article 70 are fulfilled and the person concerned is proven to be profitable or detrimental to the candidate pair, then whether the person concerned campaigns for the candidate pair," explained Ahmad.

He added that if the elements of violations in Articles 70 and 71 were fulfilled, his party would take the case to the Gakkumdu Center (Integrated Law Enforcement Center), which consists of Bawaslu, the police, and the prosecutor's office.

"If it is later proven that the person concerned has taken actions that are profitable or detrimental to one of the candidate pairs, we will act according to the rules. The Gakkumdu Center will process this case and the police and the prosecutor's office will take further legal action," he said.

For this reason, the Bengkulu City Bawaslu emphasized that the village head and village officials must be neutral in the upcoming regional elections, because the involvement of the village head and his apparatus in the campaign is a serious violation.

Therefore, his party appealed to all village heads and sub-district officials in Bengkulu City to comply with applicable rules and maintain their neutrality for the sake of creating honest and fair elections.

"We urge and remind all village heads and subordinates not to carry out activities that are profitable or detrimental to candidate pairs, and not to be involved in campaigns," he said.