The Film "Dirty Vote" Critiques the Distribution of Social Assistance Ahead of the 2024 General Election

Days before the general election, the Indonesian Center for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) launched the film *Dirty Vote: A Design of Election Fraud 2024* on their YouTube channel on Sunday (11/2/2024).

*Dirty Vote* is a documentary film that reveals alleged abuse of government power to win specific political interests in the 2024 General Election.

The film stars three constitutional law experts: Zainal Arifin Mochtar, Bivitri Susanti, and Feri Amsari. The director is Dandhy Dwi Laksono, a journalist and founder of the documentary film production house WatchDoc.

Various issues are discussed in the *Dirty Vote* film, one of which concerns the distribution of social assistance (bansos).

According to Bivitri Susanti, a constitutional law expert and one of the founders of PSHK, the social assistance budget often increases before elections.

"We can see the statistics, starting from 2014, in every election, it (the social assistance budget) will suddenly surge compared to other years," said Bivitri in the film.

Bivitri exemplified that throughout 2023, a year before the 2024 General Election, the central government's social assistance budget reached Rp 482.3 trillion.

This budget is divided into rice social assistance, the Family Hope Program (PKH) and Sembako Cards, the Smart Indonesia Program (PIP) and Smart Indonesia Card (KIP), worker insurance assistance, Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT), and other subsidies as shown in the graph.

Bivitri also criticized the social assistance, as its distribution mechanism is considered rife with political interests.

Bivitri explained that social assistance is essentially one of the fulfillments of the mandate of the 5th principle of Pancasila on social justice, and Article 34 of the 1945 Constitution which states that the poor and neglected children are cared for by the state.

"If that (social assistance) is a state facility, its distribution should also be carried out in accordance with the state structure. Who has the right or authority to provide that social assistance? The Ministry of Social Affairs," said Bivitri.

However, according to reports gathered by the *Dirty Vote* team, in the run-up to the 2024 General Election, social assistance was distributed by Zulkifli Hasan (Minister of Trade and Chairman of PAN), and Airlangga Hartarto (Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Chairman of Golkar).

"Perhaps, it's a coincidence that the Minister of Social Affairs this time is from PDI Perjuangan, which is currently opposing Jokowi's successor," said Bivitri.

"It's not that social assistance should be stopped in the name of the election, but we must restore the fact that social assistance is not political assistance or assistance from officials," she said.