T

he Jakarta Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has vowed more effort in combating “money politics” in the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election, saying such foul play has occurred over and over again without significant progress against these practices.

Transactional or “money politics” is one of the most common violations of election regulations but the agency only occasionally uncovers such cases because it is hard to trace who the actual parties are that resort to the illegal practice, says Jakarta Bawaslu head Minah Susanti.

“Money politics is insidious. You can sense it exists but you cannot spot it,” she told a discussion recently.

To be able to investigate and crack down on individuals or parties exhibiting such unlawful behavior, Minah said, the agency needed to embrace and collaborate with members of the public so authorities could be signalled with tip-offs or warnings about transactional politics occurring.

Bawaslu data, for example, showed that from the reports received from voters in the capital during the 2014 presidential election, only 9 percent were about transactional politics. Whereas 48 percent of reports received during the election had been related to ineligible voting.

The issue of transactional politics, which one can easily observe during political campaigns prior to every election in Jakarta, as well as in other cities in the country, has long been a national concern.

In an effort to eradicate this illegal practice, the House of Representatives recently agreed to give the agency power to remove a candidate from an election if they are found guilty of transactional politics.

“I want the Bawaslu to disqualify candidates [proven guilty] of ‘money politics’ in the upcoming [Jakarta gubernatorial] election, which should become a deterrent for others [thinking about utilizing the unlawful practice],” said Ahmad Riza Patria, deputy chairman of the House’s Commission II, which oversees home affairs.

“In the past, the Bawaslu could make the excuse it could not uncover ‘money politics’ because it did not have the authority to crack down on perpetrators,” he said.

The Jakarta gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place next February. While most political parties have yet to determine their candidates, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama is most likely to be running.

The governor now has two methods of participating in the election. He can run as an independent candidate as his volunteer group Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok) has successfully gathered 1 million ID-backed signatures to support him as an independent, or through political parties as he has secured enough support from the NasDem, Hanura and Golkar Party.

The combination of the three parties means Ahok has the backing of 24 seats in the Jakarta City Council, more than the required 22 seats for a candidate to run on a party ticket.

Meanwhile the ruling Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which holds 28 seats at the council has yet to select a candidate, despite much speculation about its nomination for the capital’s top post.