Andra Wisnu and Ruslan Sangadji, Jakarta/Palu – Use of state facilities and the exploitation of children at campaign rallies remains rampant among major parties, the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) announced in its latest report Thursday.
Wirdyaningsih, Bawaslu's vice-coordinator of supervision, said major parties have been recorded to have the largest number of campaign violations, though she could not say which party tops the list.
However, she said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) were two of the major parties that the Bawaslu pointed at as indictable for these violations.
"The preliminary investigation shows that the Democratic Party campaign rally may have violated election rules on the use of government facilities, such as government-owned vehicles, in their rally," Bawaslu vice-coordinator of supervision, Wirdyaningsih, said in Jakarta on Thursday.
"Meanwhile, preliminary investigations of the PKB show that they may have violated election rules and child protection laws by having children perform traditional dances on stage," she said.
The report documents 197 violations during a 10-day-period from March 16 to March 26. Jakarta and Aceh had the equal highest number of violations, with 17 each. Central Sulawesi had the second highest with 16 violations, while East Java recorded 15.
Criminal violations were also rampant, with 159 reports. Child exploitation comprised the majority of these violations, with 99 reported cases.
The most recent case happened on Monday, when a 15-year-old boy, identified as Acin, fell off the truck he was riding in on in his way to join a political rally of The Golkar Party in Palu, Central Sulawasi.
"He fell off the truck after he hit a tree branch. He injured his head and there were bruises all over his face from getting smacked by the branch," Muhammad Irsan, a local official from election watchdog KIPP (Independent Committee for Election Supervision) said.
While Acin's mother, Iswati, blamed the local Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) for allowing political parties to include children in their rallies, said she would simply leave her son's fate to God.
Irsan however, blamed Golkar and the General Elections Commission (KPU). "This simply means that the KPU has failed in doing its job," Irsan said.
Wirdyaningsih said rampant reports of child exploitation during campaign rallies showed that political parties have not properly educated their supporters about children's rights. When asked whether she thought the Bawaslu was implicitly responsible for the exploitation of children in campaigns, she said that everyone can be held responsible.
"I think parents, police, political parties, everyone is responsible for keeping children safe from harm, especially from intense situations like political rallies. As an official, I can only urge everyone to try to prevent children from joining in political rallies," she said.