T

he House’s committee tasked with inquiring into alleged election fraud involving a justice and a former poll body member may expand its probe to other cases, including alleged crimes during the 2009 presidential poll.

Committee chairman Chairuman Harahap said that since his committee’s purpose was to ensure transparent and accountable elections in the future, it was necessary for it to review the 2009 legislative and presidential election.

“This is not an expansion of the committee’s authority as since the beginning, the committee was formed to ensure transparent and accountable elections,” he said.

The committee, he added, would welcome any party that wanted to submit reports or evidence pertaining to alleged electoral fraud. However, he made it clear that since all parties participating in the 2009 polls had approved the poll results, the committee was not authorized to overturn them.

“It is already past the deadline [to annul the election results]. But we will use the report and data to improve procedures, so that we can hold more transparent and accountable elections in the future.”

The House of Representatives’ Commission II overseeing home affairs established a working committee to probe an allegation that a People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) lawmaker had bribed former Constitutional Court justice Arsyad Sanusi and former General Election Commission (KPU) member Andi Nurpati to win a House seat.

The committee summoned Arsyad and Andi, who denied the allegations, as well as several people linked to the scandal, which some lawmakers said highlighted the work of the so-called “election mafia”.

Chairuman suspected that Andi and Arsyad might have lied since their statements contradicted the testimonies of other people implicated in the case.

On Monday, eight former legislative candidates from various political parties came to the Constitutional Court claiming they should have been elected as legislators in 2009 but the General Elections Commission (KPU) and Court officials conspired to deny them their rights.

Khatibul Umam Wiranu, a member of the working committee and also a Democratic Party legislator, said the committee should focus only on probing the Andi and Arsyad case, adding that there was no use probing the entire 2009 elections as all parties had approved and signed the official results.

“I think they have been using the media for their own benefits,” he said.

House deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso has allowed the working committee to either continue or stop with the document forgery case. He said that he had already received an explanation from the working committee about the debate. He said he believed there was nothing wrong with following the investigation to the presidential elections.

“As a leader overseeing this problem, I am allowing [the committee] to do its best. If there are efforts to answer mysteries surrounding the legislative and presidential election, I think that is reasonable. Therefore, I’ll allow that,” Priyo said as quoted by Antara news agency.