The Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) of Padang City, West Sumatra took firm steps by disbanding nine campaign activities of candidate pairs (Paslon) for Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the 2024 Pilkada which were declared illegal because they did not have a campaign Notification Receipt (STTP).
“This illegal campaign was carried out by the candidate pair winning team, not by the candidates directly. This activity includes methods door-to-door visited the residents,” said the Chairperson of Bawaslu Padang, Eris Nanda, in a press statement received Indonesian MediaSaturday (12/10/2024).
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Eris explained that although no direct sanctions were given, the disbandment action was taken as a preventive measure so that the activity did not take place. “We acted before the activities took place,” he added.
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This illegal campaign was found in five sub-districts, namely in Lubuk Begalung District (two locations), Nanggalo District (three locations), Koto Tangah District (one location), East Padang District (one location), and South Padang District (two locations). The dissolution will take place from 25 September to 8 October 2024.
Political observer from Andalas University (UNAND), Najmuddin Rasul, assessed that this illegal campaign shows the lack of discipline of the winning team and candidates in following campaign rules in accordance with General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) Number 13 of 2024 concerning Campaigns.
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“Illegal campaigns reflect political practices that lack education. The winning team should have set a positive example by following the rules that have been set,” said Najmuddin.
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He also encouraged Bawaslu to be more transparent in announcing the number of campaign violations committed by Candidate Candidates and their teams. According to him, this is important so that the public can assess candidates more wisely based on their track record of compliance with the rules.
“The public needs to get clear information so they can make smart choices. Disclosure of these violations can help voters see which candidates comply with the rules and which ones violate them,” added Najmuddin.
The 2024 election for Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Padang will be held at 1,487 polling stations (TPS) spread across 11 sub-districts, with a permanent voter list (DPT) of 665,126 people. The three candidate pairs competing in this contest are Fadly Amran-Maigus Nasir (serial number 1), Muhammad Iqbal-Amasrul (serial number 2), and Hendri Septa-Hidayat (serial number 3). (M-1)
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