Mahfud MD Asks KPK To Supervise Simultaneous Regional Elections 2020

Menkopolhukam Mahfud MD (Photo: Documentation of Kemenko Polhukam Public Relations)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD asked the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to supervise the 2020 Pilkada. Because he wanted the elections to be held on December 9 to be of quality and not indicative of corruption.

"We also talked with the KPK about how the pilkada should be monitored so that corruption does not occur," Mahfud said in a webinar with the theme An Election in the Time of Pandemic: Protecting the Quality of Democracy and Potential Corruption, Thursday, June 26.

He asked all parties to provide input on the potential for corruption that might occur in the simultaneous regional elections.

"So scientifically, please give input, how to avoid corruption. Also, how to prevent the quality of the regional elections during the Covid-19 pandemic," said the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK).

"Then we also need input, how to increase public participation, how the technology is, how, and more than that because we are in a pandemic atmosphere. Do not only discuss corruption, talk about quality, but also maintain health," he added.

Mahfud explained that the government will continue to carry out regional elections even though the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended so that an area is not led by an acting official.

"First, we avoid having a regional head stay in PLT. Because PLT does not have definitive authority. So that the government together with the DPR and KPU decided not to resign from December 9," he said.

Although many parties consider the regional elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to be more wasteful and ask for a postponement, however, the government continues to implement it.

"If we continue to delay it, the economic sacrifices could be far more," he concluded.