Ganug Nugroho Adi, Surakarta – The police have named the chairman of the 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212), Slamet Ma'arif, a suspect for violating campaign rules.
The charges were brought against him after the Surakarta Elections Supervisory Agency's (Bawaslu Surakarta) enforcement division official, Poppy Kusuma, handed over evidence of the alleged violation to the police, according to Surakarta Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Andy Rifai.
"The police conducted a case screening last Friday, after which the police determined Slamet was a suspect," Andy said at the Surakarta Police headquarters on Monday.
Slamet, who is a campaign team member of the Prabowo Subianto – Sandiaga Uno presidential ticket, is alleged to have violated Article 280 of Law No. 7/2017 for campaigning outside the schedule set by the General Elections Commission (KPU), as he took part at a mass gathering held by the PA 212 supporters in Gladak on Jan. 13.
The police previously questioned Slamet as a witness for the alleged campaign activity.
In his speech, Slamet mentioned the #2019GantiPresiden (2019ChangePresident) movement, which prompted Joko "Jokowi" Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin campaign team member Her Suprabu to report Slamet to Bawaslu, which later handed the case to the police.
Under Article 492 of the Election Law, Slamet could face a maximum sentence of a year in prison and a Rp 12 million ($850) fine. Article 521 of the same law carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a Rp 24 million fine for taking part in banned campaigns.
"We will summon the suspect for further examination on Wednesday," Andy said.
Apart from questioning Slamet, the police also questioned 11 witnesses in the case. The police also cooperated with the Integrated Law Enforcement center in the case, Andy said. "We are professional and transparent," he added.
Slamet's lawyer Mahendradatta confirmed that his client was now a suspect but refused to comment further. "The summons is for next Wednesday," he said.