The General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has said that it is trying to optimize cyberspace supervision to prevent and address money politics in the 2024 election.

“The General Election Supervisory Agency is trying to ensure supervision in the digital space in the context of money politics so that it is optimally monitored by the General Election Supervisory Agency,” a Bawaslu member, Lolly Suhenty, informed in Batu city, East Java province, on Monday.

Since Bawaslu’s authority is limited, it is trying to establish cooperation with stakeholders to ensure optimal cyberspace monitoring against money politics, she said.

Efforts to improve supervision in cyberspace are important as the development of digital technology has changed the way in which election violations are committed, for instance, the use of digital wallets by those indulging in money politics, Suhenty informed.

Apart from the methodologies, which have grown increasingly more diverse, the issue of money politics is becoming increasingly complex due to a legal vacuum.

Suhenty said that currently, there is no legal basis that specifically regulates money politics. In fact, Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections does not implicitly define money politics, she pointed out.

“When it comes to money politics, there is no (exact) definition written in Law Number 7 of 2017 because it mentions giving or promising goods or something. It does not mention the implicit nature of money politics so that later, there will be debate on whether this constitutes as money politics or not,” she explained.

Thus, further discussions between the General Election Supervisory Agency and relevant stakeholders, such as the government, are needed in order to resolve the issue, she said.

Source: Antara News