Political Parties against the People

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

Pro-democracy activists and members of the Consolidation Forum for Sovereign Voters give information to reporters at the Media Center of the General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) in Jakarta on Wednesday (25/7/2018). On that occasion, they asked the General Elections Commission (KPU) to open access to the track records of legislative candidates so that the public can also take part in supervising them.

A number of political parties have deliberately nominated former corruption convicts to take part in the 2019 legislative election even though they are aware that the nominations are against General Elections Commission (KPU) regulations.

As reported by Kompas daily on Friday, the National Awakening Party (PKB) has nominated a number of former corruption inmates as legislative candidates (caleg). Although the KPU’s Regulation No. 20/2018 requires that political parties sign an integrity pact and not nominate candidates who have been convicted of corruption, sexual assault against children or drug abuse, the PKB still nominated former convicts of such cases.