T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) appears to have fulfilled its promise of weeding out candidates contesting the upcoming regional elections who are suspected of corruption.

On Tuesday evening, only hours after the General Elections Commission’s (KPU) offices in 171 participating regions announced those eligible to run in the race, the KPK arrested Imas Aryumningsih, the regent of Subang regency in West Java.

Imas, the incumbent who is seeking reelection with the support of the Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party, was on Wednesday named a suspect in bribery pertaining to the issuance of a permit in the regency after she was questioned for hours by KPK investigators.

An official from the Subang administration and two local businessmen identified only as Data and Miftahhudin were also named suspects in the case.

“The regent allegedly accepted Rp 1.4 billion [US$98,000] from businessmen pertaining to the issuance of a license in Subang,” KPK deputy chairwoman Basaria Pandjaitan said on Wednesday.

Imas’ arrest was the third by the KPK as the simultaneous regional elections (Pilkada) draws closer.

Furthermore, just like the two previous cases, the KPK said it had found evidence that Imas might have used some of the bribes she received to fund her election campaign.

“The regent allegedly also received a number of materials to support her [reelection] bid, including billboards and rented cars,” Basaria added.

Many have raised concerns that the upcoming regional elections may be prone to corruption or vote-buying.

And while the KPK has limited power regarding Pilkada, it has arrested two other candidates, namely Marianus Sae, Ngada regent in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) who is running in the NTT gubernatorial election, and the current regent of East Java’s Jombang Nyono Suhali Wihandoko.

According to the law, the KPK can only investigate alleged corruption by state officials, which may include incumbents using regional budgets for vote-buying. The KPK, therefore, cannot investigate candidates who are not state officials.

On Monday, the KPK named Marianus a suspect in a case of alleged bribery pertaining to several construction projects across Ngada regency, just hours before the NTT election committee announced his candidacy in the upcoming gubernatorial election.

The antigraft body suspected he received bribes totaling Rp 4.1 billion since last November. There were indications that Marianus used the illicit money to fund his campaign activities.

Following Marianus’ arrest, KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said it might not be the last arrest as the KPK would continue its crackdown on incumbents if they found sufficient evidence of corruption.

Nyono was arrested after being accused of corruption regarding the alleged misappropriation of health funds in the regency. The KPK accused Nyono of using some of the bribes he received to fund his reelection campaign in the upcoming Jombang election.