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Arief dismissed from KPU chairmanship on ethics breach
The election ethics council found KPU chairman Arief Budiman guilty of an ethics breach for assisting a fellow commissioner in a legal challenge against the council.
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he Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) has dismissed General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman from his position after he was found guilty of an ethics breach for assisting a fellow commissioner in a legal challenge against the council.
“We hereby impose the heaviest sanction of removing Arief Budiman from his position as KPU chairman,” DKPP chairman Muhammad said during the council’s disciplinary hearing on Wednesday, as quoted by kompas.com.
He added that the council had only dismissed Arief from the chairmanship position and he was still permitted Arief to serve as one of the KPU commissioners.
The DKPP gave seven days for the KPU to execute the ruling, as well as to choose Arief’s replacement. The council also instructed the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) to supervise the implementation of the ruling.
Read also: KPU commissioner restored to position after Jokowi revokes decree on her dismissal
The council deemed Arief guilty of violating its code of ethics for accompanying fellow KPU commissioner Evi Novida Ginting Manik when she filed a lawsuit against a presidential decree with the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) in March last year.
She challenged a decree issued by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo regarding Evi’s dismissal after the DKPP dismissed her for allegedly falsifying the 2019 regional election results in West Kalimantan.
The court ruled in her favor in July, ordering the President to revoke the decree, rehabilitate Evi’s name and restore her to her position at the KPU.
In August, KPU commissioners decided to allow Evi to return as a KPU commissioner after President Jokowi revoked the decree following the court’s ruling.
DKPP member Didik Supriyanto said Arief was frequently seen in public accompanying Evi during the legal challenge. He went on to say that the council understood that Arief had a relationship with Evi as her colleague.
“But this kind of bond should not lead him to breach the code of ethics. […] His assistance to Evi […] made it appear that the KPU was trying to fight against the DKPP’s ruling,” he said.
Responding to the DKPP’s ruling, Arief insisted that he had “never committed any violation or wrongdoing that harmed the integrity of elections,” as reported by kompas.com.
The KPU’s Evi said the commission was disappointed at the ruling, saying that Arief’s assistance during her legal challenge at the Jakarta PTUN was not an ethics breach.
“[KPU commissioner Pramono Ubaid Tanthowi] also expressed that [during a DKPP disciplinary hearing],” Evi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Read also: KPU criticized for allowing crowd-pullers during campaigns for December’s elections
She went on to say that Arief accompanied her to convey empathy with his coworker and had not interfered with the legal process.
Evi said the KPU would wait for the DKPP to send a copy of its ruling before making any decision. “This will be an internal matter for us, including whether we will elect a new chairman or not,” she said.
