T

hree candidates who had placed their bids for the coming East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) gubernatorial election were waiting eagerly for the election commission to announce those eligible to run in the race on Monday in Kupang.

But one candidate, Marianus Sae, current Ngada regent and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member, was not seen anywhere during the announcement by the NTT General Elections Commission (KPUD).

Marianus has been in the custody of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) since Sunday morning following his arrest in a hotel in Surabaya, East Java.

On Monday, just hours before the candidate announcement, the antigraft body named the regent, who is serving his second term in office, along with businessman Wilhelmus Iwan Ulumbu, a suspect in an alleged bribery case pertaining to several construction projects across Ngada regency.

KPK deputy chief Basaria Panjaitan said investigators suspected that Wilhelmus had been handing bribes totaling Rp 4.1 billion (US$300,530) to Marianus since last November, both in cash and through bank transfer.

In the investigation, the KPK also found indications that the illicit money was used by Marianus to fund activities related to his gubernatorial campaign.

“It was clear that his communication [records, which the KPK obtained] show that the money was used to fund his election campaign,” KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said.

Marianus was the second candidate in the simultaneous regional elections (Pilkada) in 171 participating regions to be named a suspect, after last week the KPK named incumbent regent of East Java’s Jombang, Nyono Suharli Wihandoko, a bribery suspect in a different case centering on an alleged misappropriation of health funds in the regency.

The KPK accused Nyono, a Golkar Party politician, of using some of the bribes he received to fund his reelection campaign in the upcoming Jombang election.

The two cases seemed to confirm concerns over possible rampant practices of using illicit money to fund Pilkada bids.

The PDI-P, which backed Marianus in the election, meanwhile, reiterated its support for the KPK.

“As a party that always lends its full support to corruption eradication, we appreciate the KPK for investigating MS,” PDI-P executive Andreas Hugo Pareira said, referring to Marianus by his initials.

The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has beefed up measures to prevent vote-buying and election violations during the Pilkada, particularly since the KPK has a limited role in Pilkada. The KPK can only exert its power to investigate alleged corruption committed by state officials — which may include incumbents using regional budgets for vote-buying. Even so, the KPK has intensified its monitoring of wealth reports (LHKPN), a mandatory document for each candidate running in the Pilkada that can show possible misappropriation.

Agus said it might not be the last arrest as the KPK would continue its crackdown on incumbents if they found sufficient evidence of alleged corruption. (srs)