Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has signed a decree on the dishonorable discharge of General Election Commission (KPU) Chairman Hasyim Asy'ari, a close aide of the president said on Wednesday.

An internal ethics tribunal found Hasyim guilty of sexual abuse against a female election official.

The presidential decree was signed on Tuesday to follow a recommendation from the Election Organizer Honorary Council (DKPP), said Ari Dwipayana, a member of the presidential expert team.

Last week, the council found Hasyim guilty of having a sexual relationship with a woman, who is a member of the KPU’s poll organizer for Indonesian citizens residing in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The DKPP recommended that the president dishonorably discharge Hasyim and appoint his successor within a week. 

The accuser, who identified herself by the initials CAT, has expressed appreciation to the council members for “their commitment to protecting the rights of the victims of sexual harassment and safeguarding the integrity of the election.”

"The ruling proves that no one is above the law, even someone who holds a very influential position," she wrote.

She said reporting her case to the DKPP wasn’t easy as it took courage and determination to do so.

"I would feel sorry for myself if I had never taken any action and would always be overshadowed by my helpless situation. Praise be to God, I finally spoke up for justice thanks to the support from various parties," she said. "If we believe in what we do to uphold justice, many will stand with us."

In filing her complaint, CAT was represented by the legal consulting firm of the University of Indonesia’s Law Faculty and Apik Law Firm.

Aristo Pangaribuan, her attorney, alleged that Hasyim had violated ethics by seducing and making indecent advances toward CAT, who is his subordinate, between September 2023 and March 2024.

“The KPU chairman is a married man," Aristo said in Jakarta.

Hasyim and CAT met several times during his official trips to Europe and also in Indonesia, the lawyer said.

This is not the first time Hasyim has been found guilty of an ethics violation. He has been reprimanded multiple times by the DKPP for different cases, including traveling with a woman whose party was applying as an election contender with the KPU, allowing ex-graft convict Irman Gusman to contest in the election despite court restrictions, and failing to update the KPU regulation on the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates in compliance with the Constitutional Court order.