Jakarta. A number of non-governmental groups on Sunday accused the General Election Commission, or KPU, of fraudulently approving several political parties to compete in the 2024 elections and of intimidating local election officials to obey their demands.

The NGOs, who acted together under the Civic Society Coalition for Fair Election, claimed to have obtained reports of fraud allegedly committed during data verification at the district and provincial levels to determine which parties were eligible to participate in the election.

“As of today, we have received complaints from at least 12 districts and seven provinces about alleged instructions from the national KPU to commit frauds during the factual verification of political parties,” Kurnia Ramadhana of the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) told a news conference in Jakarta.

Kurnia said officials at KPU headquarters in Jakarta ordered local election officials to certify a number of parties who actually didn’t qualify for the elections. He didn’t name the parties concerned.

“The secretary-general reportedly communicated via video calls to deliver the instruction and a threat of job transfer against anyone who refused to obey,” Kurnia said without providing evidence.
He added that data operators at KPU’s regional branches were gathered and asked to manipulate the numbers in favor of certain parties.

Local election officials were also told if they refused to follow the instruction, they won’t be hired again in next year’s recruitment. The KPU will appoint 136 provincial election officials in 24 provinces and 1,595 district-level officials in 317 districts and municipalities. 

Kurnia said a lawyer team for local election officials sent a reprimand to the KPU last week but has yet to get a response. 

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The KPU has not immediately responded to a request for comments.

But when the allegations became trending on social media after they were first reported by Tempo last week, KPU Commissioner Mochammad Afifuddin said the verification and selection of political parties have been “conducted properly and in accordance with existing regulations”.

“Any objection can be submitted in written statements, there’s a mechanism for this procedure,” Afifuddin said in a television interview.

In addition to ICW, the NGO coalition also comprises the Network for Democracy and Electoral Integrity, Constitutional and Administrative Law Society, Firma Themis Indonesia, AMAR Law Firm, Legislative Observer Committee, Andalas University’s Center for Constitution Study, and the Association for Election and Democracy. 

The KPU has recently certified 17 political parties for the 2024 elections, including nine incumbents who aren’t required to go through factual verification.