September 13, 2024

Money Politics Is Still Dominant

Indonesia’s 2017 Local Elections is still very much infested with money politics violations. The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) finds 78 electoral violations where 36 percent of them are money politics-related.

“Majority of penal violations in local elections are money politics-related with varied amount of money involved,” says Heroik Pratama, a researcher of Perludem (02/15).

In Batu, East Java, staffs from the local Election Monitoring Committee investigate a sub-district head who allegedly distributed prayer accessories and cash in the amount of Rp. 50.000 to Rp. 100.000. In addition, there are reports that many candidates are also giving away in-kind bribes to voters in the form of staple foods.

“In Pati Regency, Central Java, where there is only one candidate participate in the local election, there are also reports of vote buying,” says Heroik.

Other than money politics, Perludem also finds that 6 percent of total 78 violations in this year’s local elections are administrative violations, such as: there are still campaign attributes and accessories installed during the quiet period of election.