As Jakarta Poll Nears, The Election Commission Fraud Alert Rises

11.03.2012

The week-long window for political parties to register their candidates for the Jakarta gubernatorial election opens on Tuesday, but already poll organizers are voicing concerns about the potential for fraud.
Aminullah, a member of the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD), said on Sunday that registration would run from Tuesday until next Monday.
“The required documents that they must file with us are the same as those for the independent candidates, except of course without any petitions of support from registered residents,” he said.

The required documents include a copy of a high school completion certificate, a statement of good conduct from the Jakarta Police and a letter of support from the nominating party or parties.
Aminullah said the KPUD would study the submissions from March 20-26, and if there was anything missing, the candidates would have a final opportunity to refile the missing information between March 27 and April 9.
“In the subsequent verification process, they won’t have any more opportunities to hand in documents because this will be the final verification process and will decide who goes on to run in the election,” he said.
The announcement of the final candidates will take place on May 10 and 11. The election itself is scheduled for July 11.
Aminullah said the KPUD’s main concern once the registration window opened on Tuesday was the potential for candidates to submit false information, such as a forged school diploma. 

“We’re going to thoroughly check the candidates’ educational backgrounds to see if they really went to school where they say they did,” he said.
“We don’t want any candidates with falsified diplomas slipping through. It’s absolutely critical.”
Those who go on to pass the second stage of the verification process will have to undergo medical checks, which the KPUD has suggested candidates pay for themselves this time around.
Juri Ardiantoro, the KPUD chairman, said his office had already allocated some monry for the tests. “But we call on the candidates to pay for themselves if they can,” he said. “This isn’t a deal-breaker. If they refuse, we’ll obviously pay for the tests.”
The proposal for candidates to pay for their own checkups has drawn a mixed reaction from the City Council. 

Councilor Ida Mahmuda contended that it would allow candidates to get a checkup at a hospital with different standards from the Army Hospital, which would lead to different results. She also argued that since money for the checkups had already been allocated, it had to be used.
Aliman Aat, a fellow city councilor, said it was high time that candidates started paying for their own health checks.
“A physical checkup is an absolute requirement for anyone running for governor, so it should be the candidate who pays for it,” he said. “Besides, if you’re not healthy you shouldn’t be running for office. We don’t want a governor who’s too busy treating himself to be able to treat his people.”