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Unofficial campaigning heats up as policymakers refuse to close loopholes
Unofficial campaigning for next year's general election is well underway, as policymakers refused to limit the way prospective candidates can campaign outside of the designated period.
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A worker arranges the ballot papers for the 2020 Makassar regional elections at the Celebes Convention Center in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Nov. 24, 2020. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
Unofficial campaigning for next year's general election is well underway, as policymakers refuse to close the loopholes that allow prospective candidates to campaign outside of the designated period.
The campaign season will officially begin in late November but billboards featuring three prominent aspirants for the country’s top office, Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Badwedan, have appeared in several rural parts of the country, such as Central Java, East Java and Sumatra, in the past few months.
The three presumptive presidential nominees have also in recent months embarked on unofficial campaign trails to gauge and attract support, undertaking activities that range from blusukan (impromptu visits) to local markets to greeting supporters in rally-like events and making appearances at local mosques.
The intensifying political touring carried by the three presidential nominees has prompted debate over whether they are undertaking unlawful early campaigning.
One such allegation emerged earlier this year when a local resident reported Anies to the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), accusing him of carrying out a covert campaign when he signed two petitions supporting his presidential bid at Baiturrahman mosque in Aceh's capital of Banda Aceh.
While Bawaslu had ruled that it found that Anies had not committed any administrative violations, the report has prompted debates over where to draw the line between campaigning outside of the designated period that is not allowed under prevailing rules and outreach activities that are deemed legitimate.
In response to such public concerns, the General Elections Commission (KPU) and Bawaslu assembled a team to draft a new regulation further detailing technicalities on how political parties hold outreach programs to promote themselves during the pre-campaign period.
