TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The General Elections Commission (KPU) will probe allegations of political funding from drug syndicates, as earlier reported by the police, according to Mochammad Afifuddin, the Head of its Legal and Monitoring Division.

"Yes, we will certainly check it, as we have also heard about the allegations," Afifuddin stated after a public meeting on the KPU regulation held on Saturday.

He affirmed that the KPU will investigate all reports of electoral fraud, including illegal funding.

"Yes, if there has been a report about an indication of fraud, we will investigate it," the KPU division head remarked.

Meanwhile, he noted that the KPU is awaiting the passing of the KPU Regulation on electoral campaign funds, which is currently undergoing the public test.

"The KPU regulation has not passed yet. However, after that, we will investigate the reports. Perhaps similar reports have also been received by Bawaslu (General Elections Supervisory Agency) or other parties," Afifuddin remarked.

The KPU official also appealed to political parties to record their political campaign funds and their sources in a bid to maintain transparency and ensure that the funding is proportional to campaign activities.

The Indonesian Police Criminal Investigation Agency's Directorate of Drug Crimes earlier reported that it had detected an indication that some drug syndicates channeled their money to fund political activities for the 2024 General Elections.

The police agency's Deputy Director of Drug Crimes, Senior Commissioner Jayadi, stated that indications showed it had occurred during the last general election in 2019.

"Regarding whether there is an indication of the involvement of drug syndicates (in elections) and whether they funneled their funds for the elections in 2024, we are discussing it today," Jayadi stated while opening a police meeting in Bali on Wednesday (May 24).

"However, if we look at our past data, the indication is possibly affirmative," he remarked.

ANTARA

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