"We have asked the KASN to address all reports on the neutrality of civil servants," he remarked at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Friday.
He reiterated that people can submit reports on civil servants allegedly expressing their support to candidates running in the 2024 presidential election and in the process breaking their pledge of neutrality.
Anas explained that the KASN is tasked with responding to all reported violations by categorizing them to provide suggestions on possible sanctions in the form of administrative penalties, dismissal, or criminal sanctions.
"We will verify the reports submitted. However, it should be noted that not every report is verifiable," he stated.
The minister said he believes that the upcoming general elections would generate a higher number of reports on apparatus neutrality violations, considering that the presidential and legislative elections are scheduled to take place simultaneously.
Anas then stated that the PAN RB Ministry had been coordinating with the General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and the Ministry of Home Affairs to verify reports on alleged violations of state apparatus' neutrality.
KASN Chair Agus Pramusinto has projected that the number of violations of civil servants' neutrality during the 2024 General Elections would hit 10 thousand, thereby translating to a fivefold increase as compared to the figure recorded during the 2020 Regional Elections.
He noted that a total of 2,304 violations were registered in 270 regions during the 2020 Regional Elections.
The number is forecast to hike drastically since the 2024 General Elections will involve multi-level elections in a total of 548 regions across Indonesia.
The campaign period for the upcoming elections is from November 28, 2023, to February 10 of this year. The voting will take place on February 14, 2024.
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Translator: Mentari D, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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