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Vote-buying shadows Feb. 14 election
"They told me to vote for this certain candidate but I still don't know who I'm going to vote for," the 53-year-old told AFP.
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Indonesian Ambassador for Malaysia Hermono inserts ballot papers into ballot boxes after casting his vote at a polling station at Kuala Lumpur World Trade Center in Malaysia on Feb. 11, 2024. (Antara/Virna Puspa Setyorini)
When housewife Suharti was returning home from a shopping trip, a gathering of political party workers handed her Rp 100,000 ($6.3) and a T-shirt -- and asked her to vote for their candidate next week.
"They told me to vote for this certain candidate but I still don't know who I'm going to vote for," the 53-year-old told AFP.
"Once I'm inside the voting booth, I'll vote according to what my heart tells me to."
Voters, candidates and campaign volunteers have told AFP they saw free goodies and envelopes stuffed with cash being handed out ahead of the February 14 presidential and legislative polls.
About 205 million people are registered to vote in the world's third-biggest democracy, and the country's election monitoring body, Bawaslu, has urged people to report any vote-buying.
But corruption remains a problem, and Transparency International in its 2023 report said the country's anti-graft commission had been "severely disempowered".
The House of Representatives is widely viewed as one of the country's most graft-hit institutions, and the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) monitor says at least 56 candidates previously convicted of graft are running for seats in this year's legislative vote.
