28-2-2024 (JAKARTA) The Chairperson of the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), Rahmat Bagja, announced on Monday that the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Gakkumdu) is currently conducting an investigation into the alleged buying and selling of Indonesian election ballots in Malaysia. While providing this information, Bagja refrained from further commenting on the matter.
“It is still under investigation. We cannot provide details at this time,” he stated, acknowledging that the case was initiated due to the circulation of a video online.
The case was initially reported to Bawaslu by Migrant CARE, a civil society organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of Indonesian migrant workers. On February 20, Muhammad Santosa, a staff member at Migrant CARE, disclosed that brokers were involved in the sale of election ballots obtained from mailboxes in apartments located in Malaysia, where Indonesian citizens reside. Exploiting their lack of awareness, these brokers deliberately rummaged through mailboxes, collecting the ballots and consolidating them in a single location.
“They intentionally searched for mailboxes and gathered the ballots together,” Santosa explained.
Reportedly, these ballots were being sold for prices ranging between 25 and 50 Malaysian ringgit (equivalent to approximately US$5.23–10.47). The targets of this illicit activity were candidates participating in the Indonesian general elections held on February 14.
