President Joko Widodo said he respects the decision of the Honorary Election Organizing Council (DKPP) to dismiss General Election Commission (KPU) Chairman Hasyim Asyari for committing immoral acts. But some experts fear that ethical problems within the KPU could affect the ability to hold quality elections.
JAKARTA – “The government respects the authority of the DKPP in taking this decision.
This is the brief statement by President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of a working visit to Sinjai Regency, South Sulawesi, on Thursday (4/7). He stressed that the government will oversee the implementation of the simultaneous regional elections to ensure that the democratic process is good and fair for all Indonesian people.
Jokowi added that so far he had not received the KPU chairman's dismissal file. “The presidential decree has not yet reached my desk,” he said.
In a public session on Wednesday (3/7), the DKPP decided to dismiss KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy'ari because it was proven that he committed immoral acts against Cindra Aditi Tedjakinkin, a member of the Overseas Election Committee (PPLN) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Tulisdem: President must immediately issue presidential decree
Needem researcher Kahfi Adlan Hafiz said the president must immediately issue a presidential decree (keppres) regarding the dismissal of Hasyim Asyari as chairman and member of the KPU, as the election organizing body is entering the nomination phase for the simultaneous regional elections.
Even though these regional elections are organized by the regional KPU, both provincial and regency/city, because it is the context of simultaneous regional elections, the central KPU has a very large coordination function, and there are also preparations that are made by the central KPU, especially in matters such as the development of regulations, are linked to the stages of the elections, he explained.
In addition, Kahfi also said that after the Hasyim Asyari case, the KPU must redouble its efforts to restore public trust. The reason is that besides the Hasyim Asyari case, Tulisdem noted several other serious problems in the implementation of the February 11 presidential and vice-presidential elections, including the problematic voting process and Sirekap.
Where we see that the KPU's professional performance is very bad in 2024, this is added to this case of immorality, of course, in a societal context it becomes a problem, so it could really affect the public's trust in the KPU. “So I think the KPU's greatest duty, besides holding the legislative elections, is to restore its reputation by electing a president who really has no immoral record or ethical cases,” he concluded.
Election experts fear ethical issues could affect the implementation of quality elections
The same was expressed by University of Indonesia election expert Titi Anggraini, who believed that the sanctions against Hasyim Asyari should provide learning and deterrence, especially for election organizers who demand strong professionalism, credibility and integrity.
Titi fears that the ethical issues that have ensnared Hasyim Asyari's leadership, which is not the first time, will affect the KPU's ability to hold quality elections. Titi referred to the growing number of decisions by the Constitutional Court.
There have been 44 Constitutional Court decisions that have granted challenges to the results of the parliamentary elections, which means that the number has tripled compared to the 2019 elections, meaning that there are indeed structural problems related to the performance and capacity of the election organizers to organize the 2024 elections, he said.
Frankly, Titi, who has been studying various election regulations for years, said that the issue of integrity within the KPU is very problematic. It is not only about immorality but also incompetence in conducting the electoral stages. According to him, the DKPP's decision should be an impetus for overall improvements within the KPU, especially as it prepares to hold simultaneous regional elections that come with their own complex challenges. [gi/em]
