TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
KPU strives to restore public trust after ex-leader scandal
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has committed itself to regaining public trust and restoring its credibility, following the recent dishonorable dismissal of its former chairman Hasyim Asy’ari over a sexual harassment scandal.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Acting General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Mochammad Afifuddin talks to journalists during a press briefing at the commission's building in Jakarta on July 4, 2024. The poll body appointed Afifuddin as the interim chairman following the dismissal of previous chairman Hasyim Asy'ari, who was found guilty by the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) of an ethics breach for harassing a female overseas poll administrator. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he General Elections Commission (KPU) is committed to regaining public trust and restoring its credibility, following the recent dishonorable dismissal of its former chairman Hasyim Asy’ari over a sexual harassment scandal.
The vow was made by the commission’s acting chairman Mochammad Afifuddin, during a public discussion last Friday, as the country gears up for the upcoming simultaneous regional elections in November.
"We will try our best to regain public trust," Afifuddin said, adding that the KPU was currently formulating a new system that could better protect KPU officials, especially female staff members, from sexual harassment.
"We are considering creating new regulations or forming a task force to deal with the issue”.
Hasyim was sacked earlier this month after a probe conducted by the Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) found him guilty of an ethics breach for harassing a female overseas poll administrator.
Read also: KPU chair officially sacked over sexual harassment
In a complaint filed by a member of The Hague Overseas Election Committee (PPLN), Hasyim allegedly misused his authority and state facilities as the poll body chairman to attempt to seduce the plaintiff.
The DKPP also stated that Hasyim had intentionally scrapped an internal regulation that banned KPU officials from having an unregistered marriage or getting into cohabitation with other officials, to clear his path to having a sexual relationship with the election committee member.
In addition to the aforementioned move, the KPU acting head further revealed that relevant officials are formulating a risk-mitigation strategy for the upcoming regional head elections to identify possible issues that may occur and how to prevent them.
This year’s simultaneous regional head elections will be the first for Indonesia, with more than 500 provinces, regencies and cities set to elect their heads in November.
Since last year the KPU has been embroiled with various controversies, leading to plummeting public trust in the institution.
Read also: Police name seven suspects in annulled Kuala Lumpur election
In March, seven Kuala Lumpur PPLN officials were named as suspects by the police for allegedly tampering with the final voter list for the region, including illegally falsifying voter data and adding or removing names from the list.
During the vote tabulation process of the Feb. 14 general elections, various political parties, volunteer monitors and even legislative candidates flagged inflated vote numbers and other election irregularities in the KPU's Tabulation Information System (Sirekap) application.
The fiasco surrounding the vote tallying app prompted the KPU to take down the chart displaying the preliminary tabulation data of the elections, angering politicians, civil society groups and analysts alike, with some from the latter suggesting that public trust in the poll body had been eroded.
