Jokowi Asks Bawaslu to Firmly Enforce the Law When Supervising Elections

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has asked the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) to carry out strict election oversight duties, including in terms of law enforcement related to election supervision.

"The President's request that Bawaslu is upright from the start is law enforcement, both criminal law enforcement, and administrative law enforcement", said Bawaslu Chair Rahmat Bagja as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, September 22.

According to Bagja, during the hearing, President Jokowi shared his experience of being investigated by Bawaslu during the nomination process, including as Mayor of Surakarta, Central Java, and Governor of DKI Jakarta.

The President, he continued, even called those experiences the best memories because they became a tangible manifestation of Bawaslu's firmness in carrying out its duties.

"He appreciates and assesses that this is what is needed in the future, strict law enforcement so that election participants become careful in carrying out campaign processes, mass gathering, and others", he said.

Jokowi advised Bawaslu to continue to maintain this firmness to improve the implementation of the 2024 General Election sustainably in the future.

President Jokowi continued, Bagja said that Bawaslu and the government had the same views regarding the politicization of ethnic, religious, racial, and intergroup (SARA) issues, hoaxes, and black campaigns.

"Those things must be brought down in the future so that there is no polarization", he said.