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Polling Official to Face Ethics Panel Over ‘Violations’
Anita Rachman | June 28, 2010

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The General Elections Commission must be thorough in its handling of an inquiry into commissioner Andi Nurpati, who was recently given a post with the ruling Democratic party, say legislators and a watchdog.

Agustiani Tio Fridelina Sitorus, from the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu), told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that her office had recommended the polling commission, known as the KPU, also look into another possible violation committed by Andi, this time during the recently concluded district election in Toli Toli, Central Sulawesi.

Andi is already facing the possibility of being investigated for issuing a letter allowing Azis Bestari to run for district head in the Toli Toli election even after his running mate, Amiruddin Hi Nua, passed away.

Bawaslu says the move was in direct violation of the election law. She could face additional charge for accepting an appointment as a member of the Democratic Party’s executive board while still serving as a commissioner with the KPU, in blatant breach of the body’s code of ethics.

The five members of the KPU’s ethics board ­— Jimly Asshiddiqie, Komaruddin Hidayat, Syamsul Bahri, Abdul Aziz and Endang Sulastri — are scheduled to meet today to begin discussing Andi’s case, although Abdul said no agenda had been drawn up to decide what to discuss.

“The meeting’s at 10 a.m., but we have no specific agenda,” he said on Sunday.

“We don’t know whether we can resolve the case within a single meeting, or if it’ll require other means. Either way, I don’t want to jump the gun on this.”

On Wednesday, Andi tendered her letter of resignation to the KPU, citing her appointment as a member of the Democratic Party’s executive board as her reason for leaving.

However, Golkar Party legislator Chairuman Harahap, from the House of Representatives’ Commission II overseeing home affairs, rebuked the move, pointing out that a serving KPU member could only resign if permanently incapacitated or suffering from health problems, neither of which applies to Andi.

Previously, Ganjar Pranowo, Commission II deputy chairman, said allowing Andi to leave without any investigation would set a bad precedent for the KPU.

Ganjar, from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), also called for a full investigation into the Toli Toli case, saying Andi’s abrupt attempt to resign from the KPU and take a high position in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s party could give rise to speculation that she was attempting to evade blame for the alleged violation by seeking cover within the ruling party.

On Sunday, Ganjar told the Globe that the KPU’s ethics board would be judged over how it handled the case.

“It’ll be interesting to see whether they can be impartial,” he said. “They should investigate the Toli Toli election case too. We need to determine if Andi was merely in breach of the ethics code or guilty of a crime as well.”

He said he harbored doubts that the board would take action.

Ganjar has called on the public and watchdog groups to monitor the issue closely to ensure the commission was objective in its treatment of Andi.