Jakarta. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Monday rejected a request by high-profile graft suspect Hasto Kristiyanto to delay his investigation until a court ruling is issued on his pre-trial motion.

Hasto, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), filed the motion to challenge his designation as a suspect. He stands accused of bribing a senior election official to assist fellow PDI-P executive Harun Masiku in securing a parliamentary seat. Harun, the primary suspect in the case, has been on the run since early 2020.

In addition to bribery charges, Hasto faces allegations of obstruction of justice for reportedly aiding Harun in evading capture.

"According to information reaching my desk, investigators have rejected his request, meaning the investigation will proceed," KPK spokesperson Tessa Mahardhika said in Jakarta.

Tessa clarified that a pre-trial motion does not automatically halt a criminal investigation unless a court ruling explicitly mandates it.

A pre-trial motion typically seeks to challenge the legality of a suspect’s designation, with the aim of proving that law enforcement officials violated the Criminal Procedures Code. If the court agrees, the investigation may be halted.

Earlier in the day, Hasto was interrogated for the first time as a suspect in the case.

The scandal revolves around efforts to help Harun claim a House of Representatives seat that became vacant after the death of an elected PDI-P lawmaker following the 2019 elections. Hasto and his alleged co-conspirators reportedly bribed Wahyu Setiawan, a commissioner of the General Election Commission (KPU) from 2017 to 2022, to circumvent electoral rules.

Under Indonesia’s election laws, the vacant seat should have been awarded to the second-highest vote-getter from the same party in the electoral district. However, Harun, who ranked third in the 2019 elections, sought to bypass this rule.

According to the KPK’s investigation, when the case came to light in 2020, Hasto allegedly urged Harun to destroy his cellphone and flee the country. Harun fled Indonesia in January 2020, just as the KPK launched its investigation, and has remained a fugitive since.

Wahyu Setiawan, the disgraced election official, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison in August 2020.