Mahfud MD: Negative Campaign Permissible, Unlike Black Campaign

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Corroborating to a speech by Prosperous Justice Party’s (PKS) Chairman Sohibul Iman, former Constitutional Court judge Mahfud MD argues that negative campaigns that surface during an election is not forbidden.

Furthermore, Mahfud explained that there is a difference between negative campaign and black campaign, where negative reveals a political opponent’s weakness while black campaign focuses on slander and lies that eyes on destroying a political opponent.

“Negative campaigns are not forbidden, and is not punishable if it is based on facts, however, the ones that are punishable are black campaigns,” Mahfud elaborated through his Twitter account on Sunday, October 14.

Mahfud, who gave Tempo permission to quote him, said that the examples of a black campaign is by accusing Jokowi of being a member of the extinct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) or accusing Prabowo Subianto of being involved with international terrorist group ISIS.

“But if you call Jokowi thin as a lid or say that Prabowo always loses in an election, then it can be categorized as negative campaign, where it can be countered by challenging it in an argument while a black campaign is punishable by law,” Mahfud MD elaborated.

Previously reported, PKS President Sohibul Iman said that legislative hopefuls are allowed to participate in 20 percent negative campaigns that are meant to expose an opponent’s weakness – along with the 80 percent positive campaign.

AQIB SOFWANDI