Civil Society Coalition Questions Jokowi's Decision To Choose His Former Timses As Head Of The KPU-Bawaslu Selection Team

Juri Ardiantoro (Diah Ayu Wardani/VOI)

JAKARTA - A number of organizations that are members of the Civil Society Coalition have questioned President Joko Widodo's decision to choose the name of Juri Ardiantoro as the Chair of the Selection Team for Candidates for KPU and Bawaslu members for the 2022-2027 term.

This coalition consists of the Indonesian Parliamentary Center, Code of Initiatives, KISP, Netfid Indonesia, Needdem, Puskapol UI, SPD, PUSaKO FHUA, DEEP Indonesia, ICW, and Netgrit.

The Coalition regrets this, because Juri Ardiantoro is a former member of Jokowi's success team in the 2019 Presidential Election. Although, the jury has also served as Chairman of the 2016-2017 Indonesian KPU.

"The chairman of the KPU and Bawaslu Selection Team does have a proven track record in elections, but he is also a former member of the Jokowi-Ma'ruf success team in the 2019 election," said the Civil Society Coalition in a written statement, Wednesday, October 13.

"This is very unfortunate because the chairman of the KPU and Bawaslu Selection Team does not come from elements of the community or academics," he added.

Therefore, the Civil Society Coalition asks Juri Ardiantoro and other members of the KPU-Bawaslu team to maintain neutrality, prioritize independence, and avoid conflicts of interest.

In addition, they are also asked to open the widest possible public participation space to provide notes and input in the KPU and Bawaslu selection process

"The KPU and Bawaslu selection teams must be committed to holding a selection process that prioritizes the electoral competence of each KPU and Bawaslu member candidate, and does not prioritize the interests of community organizations or certain groups," explained the Coalition.

For information, President Jokowi has chosen 11 names for the Selection Team for KPU-Bawaslu Candidates through Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 120/P of 2021.

Jokowi chose Jury Ardiantoro as the head of the South Timorese team. In 2019, the jury served as Deputy Director of Legal and Advocacy for the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin National Campaign Team (TKN) for the last presidential election. Previously, the jury served as Chairman of the Indonesian KPU from 2016 to 2017.

However, in a previous press conference, the Jury promised to work independently. He admitted that he would conduct the selection process for the election organizers in a manner with integrity.

"We all have the same commitment to work openly, transparently, and of course impartially, independently, to convince the public that we can work well as instructed by law," said the jury at a press conference at the Ministry of Home Affairs office, Tuesday. , October 12.