President of the Election Commission arrested in Jakarta

05/21/2005 13:06
INDONESIA

by Mathias Hariyadi

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – The National Anticorruption Commission (KPK) yesterday arrested Prof. Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin, president of the National Election Commission (KPU). The arrest comes after the launch of a campaign to battle corruption "without respite", required by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Over the past week, the case has been keenly followed by national media: Prof. Sjamsuddin declared several times that he had "nothing to do with corruption suspects" within his commission. The KPK had already arrested three high-ranking KPU members: Mulyana Kusuma, human rights activist and member of the leadership council; Hamdani Amid, commission treasurer, and Sussongko Suhardjo, executive secretary-general. The commission of inquiry opened files of investigation on many high-ranking KPU members.

Sjamsuddin was apprehended and interrogated in his office in the centre of Jakarta: according to investigators, the KPU president received payoffs of at least 40,000 US dollars, coming from cuts on expenditure of the Election Commission. Some days earlier, the treasurer had admitted to receiving payoffs of more than 20 billion Indonesian rupees (around 2.12 US dollars) from private investors; Sjamsuddin meanwhile had declared several times that "there was no more money".

The KPU gained popularity among the nation and international opinion for successfully conducting national elections, the first direct poll in Indonesia which took place without violence, even in the second ballot phases.

According to the Indonesian criminal code, whoever is found guilty of corruption must be condemned to life imprisonment.

Shortly after Sjamsuddin's name cropped up among the suspects, Ray Rangkuti – president of the independent commission of election monitoring – asked president Susilo to suspend all KPU members from their posts. Rangkuti even invited the executive to fill in the "vacant role" of the KPU as soon as possible. The work of the commission is fundamental for regional ballots, which elect candidates for provincial government posts, district mayors and all local officials.

Also in the context of the fight against corruption, an operation in the banking sector was concluded successfully. The KPK brought three high-ranking bankers to face charges. They are from Mandiri bank, the richest state-owned bank; conspicuous among those interrogated is Dr Neloe, president of the bank.