JAKARTA (ANTARA) — The General Elections Regulatory Authority (Bawaslu) is monitoring the social media channels of state civilian agencies to prevent political campaigning on their part ahead of the 2024 general elections.
“We monitor social media because the behavior of state civilian machines is visible not only to the eyes (in real life) but also in cyberspace,” Oding Junaedi, head of the West Jakarta General Elections Inspectorate, said here on Monday.
Junaedi said social media activities must be monitored by state officials to ensure they maintain political neutrality ahead of the general election.
In addition, monitoring is necessary to anticipate cases such as the formation of political groups by state civil apparatuses or the implementation of political initiatives, he noted.
Activity monitoring is being carried out by the agency’s dedicated cyber team at city to national levels, he said.
If an officer is found campaigning on social media, the agency will issue a stern warning.
So far, there have been no reports of such activity in cyberspace, either in relation to government officials supporting or opposing a particular candidate, Junaedi announced.
He expects the monitoring to improve the political neutrality of all state employees in all institutions as part of the preparation for the coming elections.
Candidates can campaign for themselves during the 75-day campaign period, he said. It is estimated that the mentioned period will be in November 2023.
“Candidates can campaign in the 75 days before the elections are closed,” he said.
If a political party is found to be in violation of some regulations during the election campaign, such as B. Campaigns in schools, places of worship and workplaces of state civil machinery, the agency will severely admonish violators, he added.
“For example, if a political party commits an infringement during those 75 days. We’re going to note it, we’re going to make some kind of chart on the degree of political party’s compliance with the regulation, then we’re going to publish it,” he said.
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