According to Indonesia's election law, active police and military officers are not eligible for voting or contesting elections. Meanwhile, no such restrictions exist for retired officers, mandatory for those aged 58.
Head of the Public Information Bureau of the Indonesian Police’s Public Relations Division Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan said that in response to the report, the police force has requested the General Elections Commission (KPU) to share the names of officers included in the electoral roll.
"The police are coordinating with the KPU and have asked them to hand over the names of police officers included in the provisional or final electoral roll, and the police will verify those names," he informed here on Monday.
He said that the police officers included on the electoral roll may be retired officers who are yet to change the occupation status on their ID card, as it is valid for life.
"The police will verify whether the included names are police officers who have retired," he stated.
Ramadhan also reiterated the police’s commitment to adhering to prevailing regulations that require police officers to remain politically neutral and not involve themselves in politics.
"We will ensure (adherence to regulations) that police officers must not vote or be voted. We will firmly hold this commitment. This issue should not become a polemic, we will verify the findings," the bureau head affirmed.
On March 29, 2023, the Bawaslu reported that the names of a total of 20,655 police and military officers have been included in the electoral list for the 2024 General Elections— a potential electoral law violation.
Of the total officers on the list, 11,457 are military officers and 9,198 are police officers, mostly from Jakarta, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi, and Maluku Provinces.
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Translator: Laily Rahmawaty, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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