Anies Baswedan Commits No Violation, Bawaslu Says

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Bogor Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) stated that Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan did not commit any violation of election regulation during an event held by the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) in Sentul, Bogor. The decision was made following analysis, studies, and clarification on the report and witnesses.

"The suspected election crime committed by ANB [Anies Baswedan] is hard to be proven," said Bogor Bawaslu Coordinator for Violation Handling Division Abdul Haris on Friday, January 11, 2019. "The same applies to suspected election crime committed by ANB as a governor, is considered to not fulfill any criminal elements and cannot be continued to the next process," Haris said.

Haris stated that based on the available facts, there was no evidence showing that Anies had violated any articles of Law No. 7 of 2017 on Election.

"About the hand gesture, it is just a victory sign for [Jakarta football club] Persija, the literacy sign, and a symbol of vertical and horizontal relationship, so it was not meant to support a certain candidate," Haris explained.

ANies previously attended the Gerindra Party National Conference in Sentul, Bogor on December 17, 2018. During the event, Anies was seen making a hand gesture with his thumb and index finger, which many believed to show support for the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno presidential and vice presidential candidate.

ADE RIDWAN YANDWIPUTRA