Jakarta. Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was interrogated as a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Monday but was not detained following the session.

The interrogation at the KPK headquarters in Jakarta lasted approximately 3.5 hours, during which Hasto was questioned about allegations that he bribed a senior election official to help fellow PDI-P executive Harun Masiku secure a parliamentary seat. Harun, the primary suspect in the case, has been on the run since early 2020.

Hasto, a trusted aide of PDI-P Chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, was accompanied by members of the party’s legal team, including Ronny Talapessy, Maqdir Ismail, and Johannes Tobing.

Hasto said he has filed a pre-trial motion challenging his designation as a suspect and requested the KPK to delay interrogations until the court issues a ruling.

“I have exercised my rights to request a pre-trial hearing, and my legal team submitted a written notification about the ongoing court process to the KPK leadership board,” Hasto told reporters.

His legal team refrained from disclosing details of the interrogation, advising journalists to direct inquiries to the KPK investigators.

“Regarding other matters related to the case, I encourage you to ask investigators,” said Maqdir Ismail, one of Hasto’s lawyers.

The scandal revolves around efforts to help Harun claim a House of Representatives seat that became vacant after the death of an elected PDI-P lawmaker following the 2019 elections. Hasto and his alleged co-conspirators reportedly bribed Wahyu Setiawan, a commissioner of the General Election Commission (KPU) from 2017 to 2022, to circumvent electoral rules.

Under Indonesia’s election laws, the vacant seat should have been awarded to the second-highest vote-getter from the same party in the electoral district. However, Harun, who ranked third in the 2019 elections, sought to bypass this rule.

According to the KPK’s investigation, when the case came to light in 2020, Hasto allegedly urged Harun to destroy his cellphone and flee the country. Harun fled Indonesia in January 2020, just as the KPK launched its investigation, and has remained a fugitive since.

Wahyu Setiawan, the disgraced election official, was convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison in August 2020.