"Some of us might be unaware that besides rallying (support for a political candidate), there are (neutrality violation) issues on the social media of state apparatus, since most violations occurred on social media," Bawaslu chairperson Rahmat Bagja informed at a seminar on state civil apparatus neutrality, which was accessed on Kemendikbud RI’s YouTube channel here on Tuesday.
As he had pointed out during the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the State Civil Apparatus Committee (KASN) and the Ombudsman on May 31, 2022, some younger state apparatus are still unaware that even liking, commenting, or sharing political campaigns on social media constitutes a violation of their neutrality.
To address the issue, Bawaslu will continue to disseminate information about state apparatus political neutrality monitoring, as agreed by other government institutions, namely KASN, the Home Affairs Ministry, State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry, and National Civil Service Agency (BKN), Bagja expounded.
The dissemination is expected to provide in-depth information to state apparatus regarding actions that constitute a violation of their compulsory political neutrality, he added.
Besides disseminating the neutrality regulation, the Bawaslu head said that the agency will also conceive integrated, collaborative, and effective monitoring strategies and methods to address state apparatus violating the neutrality rule during the general elections in 2024.
"The cooperation would be enhanced by the formation of a task force to monitor state apparatus neutrality," Bagja remarked.
According to Law No. 5 of 2014, state civil apparatus must be free from any political influence. While the regulation does not restrict their voting rights, state apparatus are barred from publicly disclosing their political stance.
Related news: Bawaslu to closely monitor voting committee staff recruitment
Related news: 2024 elections to be the biggest ever, President tells poll watchdog
Translator: Tri Meilani A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
