We will check whether or not they have completed the five-year waiting period.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) will scrutinize data on former corruption convicts in the list of prospective legislative candidates to check whether they completed the mandatory five-year waiting period to run for the 2024 elections.

"We will check whether or not they have completed the five-year waiting period," Bawaslu Chairman Rahmat Bagja stated on the sidelines of a webinar on policewomen competence to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Policewomen here on Tuesday.

Bagja remarked that the checking will be conducted after the General Elections Commission (KPU) has fully released the provisional candidate list (DCS).

Earlier, the Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) raised concerns over the inclusion of former corruption convicts in the provisional list of legislative candidates for the 2024 elections.

The ICW identified at least 12 former corruption convicts in the list published by the KPK on Saturday (August 19).

Seven of them are registered as candidates for the House of Representatives (DPR) from various political parties.

Abdillah, Abdullah Puteh, and Rahudman Harahap are candidates for the National Democratic (NasDem) Party; Susno Duadji is affiliated with the Nation Awakening Party (PKB); Nurdin Halid represents Golkar Party; while Al Amin Nasution and Rokhmin Dahuri are associated with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

The five remaining individuals are listed as candidates for the Regional Representative Council (DPD) in different provinces, namely Patrice Rio Capella in Bengkulu, Dody Rondonuwu and Emir Moeis in East Kalimantan, Irman Gusman in West Sumatra, and Cinde Laras Yulianto in Yogyakarta.

ICW researcher Kurnia Ramadhana assessed that KPU's failure to announce the legal status of the prospective candidates would further fuel controversies regarding the implementation of the 2024 election.

Ramadhana recalled the commitment made by KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy'ari in July that the legal status of former corruption convicts registered as legislative candidates would be announced.

He cited the results of a poll published by Kompas Research and Development that 90.9 percent of the respondents did not agree with ex-corruption convicts running as candidates in the election.

In the 2019 election, the KPU announced the list of candidates, who had the status of former corruption convicts, he remarked.

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Translator: Laily Rahmawaty, Sri Haryati
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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