Bawaslu Said, The Online Campaign For The 2020 Regional Elections Was Prone To Violations

Member of Bawaslu Rahmat Bagja. (Photo: Bawaslu RI Public Relations)

JAKARTA - Campaigns or general meetings using online methods for the 2020 Pilkada are prone to violations. This online campaign is a discourse in the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

"We map out potential violations if the campaign is carried out online," said Bawaslu member Rahmat Bagja, quoted from the Bawaslu website, Friday, June 12.

Bagja gave an example, when online campaigns, people will use their credit. With this pattern, it could become a mode for pairs of candidates to influence voters by luring credit or prizes.

Bagja added that this online campaign activity was the KPU's plan to limit the number of people present and avoid crowds to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

"Now this is homework for the supervisor of the election or the upcoming regional elections. Does that include money politics (credit and gifts for online participants) or not?" asked Bagja.

Realizing that this action could become a new mode for candidate pairs to conduct money politics, Bagja assured, supervisors must be able to overcome this by adjusting existing methods.

"This is what we must solve in the future, the solution," he said.

Previously, Doni Monardo, Chair of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Handling COVID-19, recommended the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada even though the COVID-19 event was still happening.

Among other things, election organizers need to pay attention to health protocols and conduct studies so that there is no transmission of COVID-19. He reminded that during the pilkada process, it was not allowed to hold meetings that involved many people. Even if forced, these meetings must be closely monitored.

Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD said the 2020 Pilkada would still be held on December 9. He claimed that many regional heads agreed that the regional elections would still be held even though the COVID-19 outbreak was still happening.

Mahfud MD added, this regional head election could not possibly be postponed for reasons of mid-week. Because, no one can confirm the end of this COVID-19 outbreak.

"If we wait when the corona is finished, no one knows when it will be finished," he said.

He said that the implementation of the elections on December 9 had been agreed upon by the General Elections Commission (KPU) as an independent organizer, the Indonesian Parliament, and the government.