Cash for votes rackets busted in Indonesian Election campaigns

Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy has some of the worst money politics in Southeast Asia, say, researchers. Anti-graft advocates and politicians say handouts of cash and gifts lead to rampant corruption in its national legislature as successful candidates recoup their election expenses once elected.

Researchers say that envelopes, usually stuffed with cash about $1.42 to $7.08 are commonly doled out to the voters. The amount seems meagre but the overall cost can be huge over a six-month campaign.

Earlier this month, Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) seized six storage chests in a concealed basement owned by a Parliamentarian seeking re-election. The chests contained 400,000 envelopes of over $566,000. Analysts say it is relatively rare to see prosecutions for election-time bribery. Two politicians from the National Mandate Party were sentenced to three months in prison in December for distributing coupons for the Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca to voters. However, they will not be disqualified from running for office again. In 2017, the then speaker of the Parliament was arrested for orchestrating a scheme to plunder $173 million from a government contract for a national electronic identity card.

Analysts point out that cash-for-votes reaches its peak during the ‘dawn attack’, the morning of the election when candidates blitz voters.