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Bureaucratic power hinders civil servants from staying neutral in elections: Bawaslu
Civil servants who insisted on preserving their neutral stance would be seen as committing insubordination, which could endanger their position.
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An illustration of a civil servant. (Shutterstock/Paravyan Eduard)
Civil servants (ASN) are often put in unfavorable situations that may cost them while staying neutral during elections, reveals Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) head Abhan.
“Civil servants are sometimes forced to take sides by intimidation or threats from powerful bureaucrats who are not neutral within the electoral political dynamics,” Abhan said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Thursday.
He added that civil servants who insisted on preserving their neutral stance would be seen as committing insubordination, which could endanger their position.
Read also: Vote buying threatens to undermine year-end elections: KPK
However, there were also civil servants who engaged in practical politics, such as joining rallies by certain candidates in hopes they will receive a promotion or other benefits in exchange, he conceded.
Therefore, Abhan hoped that civil servants could preserve their neutrality through a joint regulation (SKB) on the 2020 simultaneous regional elections.
“Hopefully, this won't be an issue in this year’s election,” Abhan said. (dpk)
