TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar, the presidential and vice-presidential number 1, were reported to the Election Supervisory Commission (Bawaslu) for their comments on the viral film Dirty Vote.

The documentary, directed by Dandhy Laksono, was released on February 11 during the cooling-off period leading to the 2024 general election. The one-hour and 57-minute film features three constitutional law experts, namely Zainal Arifin Mochtar, Bivitri Susanti, and Feri Amsari, who exposed orchestrated election frauds involving state officials.

Anies made comments about the controversial film during a visit to the home of former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, which led to a report being filed to Bawaslu by a civil society group, Rampai Nusantara. On its Instagram page @rampainusantara_official, the group claimed that Anies had violated Article 276 (1) and (2), Article 287 (5), and Article 492 of Law No. 7 of 2017 on the Election Law. The former Jakarta governor was also suspected of violating Article 27 and Article 54 of the General Election Commission (PKPU) Regulation No. 15 of 2023, which carries criminal penalties.

Muhaimin Iskandar, also known as Cak Imin, was also reported to Bawaslu by advocacy group LISAN for commenting on the Dirty Vote film via his X (formerly Twitter) and urging netizens to watch the movie. LISAN claimed that Cak Imin was running a black campaign.

The PKB chairman responded to the report lightly. "How come I'm not allowed to comment on this?" he said on Feb. 13. His tweet received nearly 3,000 retweets and 1,500 replies.

Before Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar made their comments about Dirty Vote, their national campaign team had earlier praised the film as a source of public knowledge about politics in Indonesia. The team's spokesperson, Iwan Tarigan, said the film exposes how dirty, deceitful, and unethical rulers play with democracy for their personal, family, and group interests.

RACHEL FARAHDIBA REGAR

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