The Election Organizers Honorary Council (DKPP) has issued a severe warning letter to the chairman and several members of the General Elections Commission (KPU), as well as its secretary-general, after finding them guilty of violating the election ethics code by using private jets during the 2024 election period.

The sanction was announced during a virtual ruling session on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. DKPP Chair Heddy Lugito said the decision underscored a breach of ethical conduct through the use of luxury transport facilities unrelated to official election duties.

“A severe warning is imposed on Respondent I, Muhammad Afifuddin, as KPU Chairman, and on members Idham Holik, Yulianto Sudrajat, Parsadaan Harahap, and August Mellaz, effective immediately,” Heddy declared.

In addition, KPU Secretary-General Bernad Darmawan Sutrisno received the same sanction, while Commissioner Betty Epsilon Idroos was cleared of wrongdoing and had her reputation restored.

The case stemmed from a public complaint filed by Sri Afrianis and Dudy Agung Trisna, who alleged that KPU leaders’ use of private jets contradicted principles of efficiency and neutrality required of election organizers.

DKPP member Dewi Pitaloka said the KPU’s justification that the private jets were needed for logistics monitoring could not be accepted.

“The argument that private jet use was necessary because the campaign period lasted only 75 days cannot justify such an action,” Dewi said.

She added that the jets were not used primarily for visiting remote or frontier regions, as initially claimed.

“Private jets were used on 59 occasions, and most trips were not to the designated 3T regions [disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost areas],” Dewi cited.

Luxury flights and procurement irregularities

During DKPP’s hearing, complainants presented detailed documentation showing 59 flight routes taken by KPU commissioners and the secretary-general using private aircraft. Evidence was compiled from open-source data, including KPU’s official social media accounts (Twitter/X and Instagram), flight-tracking sites like FlightRadar24, and media reports.

The KPU acknowledged taking 59 trips, but only 30 percent were to remote areas, while 70 percent were to easily accessible locations such as Jakarta–Bali routes.

Adding to the controversy, procurement records showed the leasing contract was signed on November 1, 2024, even though the jets had already been used since January 8, 2024. Two identical contracts worth Rp65.49 billion were signed with the same vendor, PT Alfalima Cakrawala Indonesia, raising questions about budget irregularities.

Report to KPK

Earlier in May 2025, the Civil Society Anti-Corruption Coalition reported the KPU to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for alleged budget inflation and misuse in the private jet procurement.

According to the coalition, while the official budget allocation was Rp46 billion, the total contract value identified in two agreements for January–February 2024 reached Rp 65 billion, indicating a potential Rp19 billion markup.

The group also criticized the lack of transparency in the e-catalog procurement process, which contained minimal and vague information, allowing room for potential abuse.

KPU Chairman Mochammad Afifuddin defended the decision, citing the compressed campaign period for the 2024 election, only 75 days compared to 263 days in 2019, which he said required faster logistics distribution and field coordination.

“Time was very limited, so we had to accelerate various processes, including ensuring regional readiness,” Afif said in Jakarta on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

He argued that without expedited measures, logistical delays could have disrupted election operations nationwide. The use of private jets, he said, was intended partly to inspect regional readiness.

When asked about the tender process, however, Afif declined to comment, saying he was not involved in technical matters.

“If the question concerns technical procedures or how these processes were conducted, I don’t know,” he said.