W

e would agree that the April 9 legislative election was hardly free of violations, which ranged from vote-buying to the denial of the right to vote. Many would even deem the election three months ago as the worst polls Indonesia has ever held due to reportedly rampant offenses.

After the elections, some of those involved in election fraud appeared on TV talk shows, not to give them publicity but to prove the violations had happenned and, as expected, went unpunished. Rarely did we hear about police investigating fraudsters and bringing them to justice.

Looking at the course of the campaign season ahead of the presidential election next week, we have many reasons to worry about whether fair play prevailed.

The circulation of publications spreading lies that discredit presidential candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has shown no signs of cessation despite a police investigation. But perhaps because of the police's foot-dragging in response to the case, a book accusing Jokowi's rival Prabowo Subianto of playing the Islamic card just to fulfill his presidential bid has begun to circulate.

Foul tricks, as in the most recent attempt to link Jokowi with communism, just after the smear campaign to prevent Muslims from voting for him, have been widespread, not to mention the one-sided coverage in mainstream media, particularly television, and the use of social media by people who attack the rival of their preferred candidate.

The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) announced on Monday that Prabowo had violated election rules by sending private letters to teachers in Jakarta to solicit their support and that Jokowi conducted an illegal campaign at the National Monument (Monas) Park and Hotel Indonesia traffic circle on June 22. Learning from the fraud-ridden legislative election, the reported violations of the presidential election rules are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. There could be many more violations that remain unreported.

Bawaslu has released a list of 10 regencies/municipalities and 10 provinces considered the most vulnerable to foul play, stemming from an unclear final voter list, lack of supervision due to difficult terrain, the absence of facilities and vote-buying. Most of the regions are in densely populated Java. Bawaslu has ordered all of its branches across the country to keep an eye out for any potential violations, but their limited budget will prevent them from thoroughly carrying out their oversight duties.

It is therefore understandable that the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla ticket plans to recruit 3.5 million witnesses to ensure that the election on July 9 is conducted fairly. The Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa side will also take any possible avenue to prevent violations from occurring. But as evinced in the legislative election, violations are likely to be commonplace regardless of any preventive measures.

The problem here is that violations, if any, are difficult to prove. The Constitutional Court turned down most cases of alleged violations filed by losing legislative candidates merely because of a lack of evidence. It will be the voters themselves who decide whether fair play can prevail if they choose conscience over payment.