Jakarta – At least 50 criminal election violations have been reported to the police ahead of 2020 regional elections, the majority of which are related to smear campaigns, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono said on Sunday.
"Twenty-two of the cases are related to activities that benefit or disadvantage one candidate," Awi said as quoted by kompas.com.
Police also received six reports of vote-buying and four reports of forgery.
Three candidates have been reported for allegedly campaigning based on ethnicity, religion and race (SARA), while three others were accused of obstructing election organizers in carrying out their duties.
"Twenty-seven cases are currently under investigation," Awi added.
Besides electoral violations, many candidates find themselves in hot water for violating health protocols ahead of the election day.
The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has found at least 306 health protocol violations during 3,646 face-to-face campaign activities conducted across the country between Oct. 16 and 25.
The elections will be held simultaneously in 270 regions comprising nine provinces, 224 regencies and 37 cities. (trn)