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No smear campaigns reported so far: Bawaslu
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On alert — Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) chairwoman Mimah Susanti (second right) discusses alleged irregularities ahead of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election during a press conference on Jan. 6. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
T
he Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has not yet received reports about smear campaigns ahead of the city’s gubernatorial election, although many parties including pollsters have said such campaigns are rampant, according to an official.
Bawaslu Jakarta chairwoman Mimah Susanti said the agency had received 76 reports so far but none were about smear campaigns.
“We have only received reports about campaign banners being destroyed and disturbances to campaign activities,” Mimah told The Jakarta Post in an interview on Wednesday. The agency would follow up on reports of smear campaigns if candidates filed them, she added.
Eligible voters in seven provinces, 76 regencies and 18 municipalities are set to elect local leaders in simultaneous elections scheduled for Feb. 15.
Mimah said Bawaslu was closely watching developments on the ground including campaign activities conducted by each candidate pair, but added the agency had not found clear evidence of smear campaigns.
(Read also: Police to go all out to secure simultaneous regional elections: Tito)
Smear campaigns targeting race and religion have reportedly intensified as the Jakarta gubernatorial election draws near. A survey released by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) on Tuesday stated that gubernatorial candidate Anies Baswedan had become a smear campaign victim, as he had been accused of being a Shia follower and was portrayed as a liberal Muslim.
When respondents were asked which of the three governor candidates was likely to maintain pluralism in Jakarta, Anies came second after Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, although in the survey the former culture and education minister was perceived as a faithful religious follower, just like Agus.
The LSI survey further said that Anies’ poor ranking on the issue of pluralism had been influenced by a smear campaign. Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama ranked third in the survey amid an ongoing blasphemy case. (ebf)
