TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A socio-political observer from the Jakarta State University (UNJ), Ubedilah Badrun, slammed President Joko Widodo or Jokowi for his statement that a sitting president is free to endorse and campaign for any presidential candidate. Ubedilah believed that the president had openly violated the law.

“The statement clearly violates the law,” Ubedilah said in a written statement on Wednesday, January 24.

He explained that the Election Law emphasizes the need for a president to be neutral. Article 48 (1b) of the Election Law states that the General Elections Commission (KPU) must report to the House of Representatives (DPR) and the president on all stages of the election process and other duties.

“This shows that the president is not involved in the election process, so there will be no abuse of power in the election process,” Ubedilah said.

Article 22 (1-2) stipulates that the president has a role in forming a team to determine KPU members to be submitted to the DPR. “This is the president's obligation to stay neutral in the entire election process,” he added.

Jokowi’s recent statement, he assessed, was very harmful. If the president lacks neutrality since the formation of the KPU selection team, then all KPU members could be the president’s people. “That is a door to systemic fraud. At this point, the president is obliged to be neutral.”

Additionally, he emphasized that the president is not just a political position, but according to the 1945 Constitution, he serves as the head of government and state and oversees millions of law enforcement officers, police, soldiers, and civil servants (ASN).

“If the president is not neutral, there will be problems followed,” the observer added. “He potentially violates the 1945 Constitution.”

He went on to say that mixing political positions, head of state, and head of government, could not be justified and could fall under the category of abuse of power according to Article 17 (2b) of the Government Administration Law.

“President Jokowi has clearly violated the law,” Ubedilah concluded.

IKHSAN RELIUBUN

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