TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) member Mochammad Afifuddin has said the decision on an alleged off-schedule campaign for the 2019 general election initiated by the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) will be released on May 16, or two weeks after the suspected violation was found.
“This case will be ended on May 16, after then perhaps a decision has been made, along with its investigation results,” said Afifuddin at the Bawaslu Building, Friday, May 4.
Afifuddin said the agency would summon more parties to shed light on the case, including Jawa Pos as the print media that published the advertisement and the intermediary agency that connected the party, which is lead by Grace Natalie, to the media.
“The agency was professional in its sector, but it was the person who placed the ad,” said Afifuddin, adding that PSI will be summoned today. At around 15:00 local time, PSI secretary-general Raja Juli Antoni was seen entering the Bawaslu building.
Read: Press Council Talks about PSI`s Possible Campaign Violation
Afterwards, Bawaslu will hold a meeting with the General Election Commission (KPU), Press Council, and criminal experts to identify any possible violation the ad might contain.
“We will hear from the criminal experts from the criminal law viewpoints, and from linguists with regard to the definition of self-image,” said Afifuddin.
Bawaslu Jakarta's head of legal division and violation management, Puadi, said PSI was suspected of violating campaign rules, as its advertisment displayed the party's logo and election number. The advertisement also showed an alternate vice presidential hopeful and candidates of cabinet ministers for President Joko Widodo for the 2019 election.
PSI's legal division's spokesman, Kamarudin, said his party was set to accept a sanction from the Bawaslu if found guilty of violating election rules. "But this is still debatable," he said after his questioning at the Jakarta Bawaslu building on Wednesday.
CAESAR AKBAR
