In the beginning, the public discourse was dichotomously antagonistic, assuming that proceeding with the simultaneous elections would be risking lives while postponing it would save lives.
By
J Kristiadi
·6 minutes read
The polemic over the 2020 regional elections (Pilkada) between those urging its postponement and others wanting the elections to proceed as planned shows that Indonesia is maturing as a nation in managing public dilemmatic and sensitive issues. In the beginning, the public discourse was dichotomously antagonistic, assuming that proceeding with the simultaneous elections would be risking lives while postponing it would save lives. However, the debate that emerged later is more constructive. Each side posited arguments that culminated in agreeing that the regional elections must be held, but human safety was the first priority.
The arguments of those pushing for postponing the regional elections can be boiled down to three main points. First, the data estimates a potentially very large number of victims because of the larger number of people who would be exposed to Covid-19. A study by Indo Barometer, for example, estimates that if the elections proceed without strict requirements for implementing the health protocol, millions of people could potentially be exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the disease.
Second, the potential for the regional elections to cause many deaths cannot be weighed against its potential for producing regional heads that have predominantly resorted to practices like money politics, kinship politics, political image building, and oligarchic politics in their election campaigns.
These individuals cannot be fully expected to possess the managerial skills, empathy, and concern for public suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic. Initial indications during the Pilkada 2020 candidate registration on 4-6 Sept. showed candidate pairs and their supporters having a "festival" that indulged in the aura of perceived victory. No one showed any conscientiousness that their actions posed a grave danger to others. Third, public compliance is very low. This has been evident in the widespread violations of the health protocols over the past six months of Covid-19 management. Essentially, the argument of those urging that elections be postponed is extremely reasonable because it prioritizes humanitarian reasons.
The main arguments of those who support going ahead with the elections, especially the government, the House of Representatives (DPR, political parties), and the General Elections Commission (KPU), are: First, the government does not have a valid assumption on which it can base its plan for postponing the elections, because it does not know when the pandemic might subside. Relying on intuition and speculation would only result in chaotic governance.
Second, postponing the Pilkada 2020 would entail appointing hundreds of acting regional heads with limited authorities, whereas the government needs to come up with regional strategies to manage the Covid-19 emergency. It fears that authority without legitimacy would make the national Covid-19 response ineffective and cause the death toll to rise.
Third, the government does not want to be accused of neglecting the people’s constitutional rights by postponing the regional elections, the rescheduling of which is as yet indeterminable. In essence, the arguments of the government, the DPR, and the KPU refer more to the constitutionality and administrative technicalities of governance, but also have a human dimension.
Furthermore, clear and firm sanctions must be defined for campaigns that involve mass gatherings in order to establish deterrence for potential offenders, especially candidates.
The debate is growing increasingly constructive because of the many options that are being offered. First, Law No. 6/2020 on the stipulations of regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) No. 2/2020 on the regional elections and KPU Regulation (PKPU) No. 10/2020 on Implementing the continuation of the regional elections amidst the pandemic do not consider the aggressive characteristics of Covid-19. Therefore, proceeding with the regional elections requires more comprehensive regulations, including a strict ban on physical campaigns. Furthermore, clear and firm sanctions must be defined for campaigns that involve mass gatherings in order to establish deterrence for potential offenders, especially candidates.
Second, the regional elections should be held according to the Covid-19 emergency zoning system. It is therefore necessary to map out the zones according to the Infection risk: the Pilkada 2020 should be held only in green zones.
Third, the argument that postponing the regional elections would upend governance to cause political upheaval needs to anticipate “stowaways” who could take advantage of political instability. Their standard method has always been to create dichotomous debate to foment social divisiveness by inciting the masses to anger through primordial sentiments. Their goal is to delegitimize the state and use public riots as a political tool to achieve their goals.
However, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter and larger, as President Joko Widodo has responded positively to the warnings from Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, as well as individual figures who hold similar views, to postpone the Pilkada 2020 (Kompas.com, 21/9/2020). Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud M.D. has said that the KPU intended to revise PKPU No. 10/2020, ban parades, general meetings and limited meetings that exceeded a cap on participant numbers. Campaigns are to be conducted virtually. The enforcement of the health protocols is to be emphasized and the National Police placed in charge of enforcing them.
Positive responses have also begun to emerge among political parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which has instructed its regional and branch offices and candidates with party backing to comply with the public health and safety measures for Covid-19 mitigation. Any PDI-P members or executives who violated the protocols would be sanctioned according to a tiered system of punishment. The Democratic Party’s central executive board also stressed that it would issue formal warnings to any cadres who did not comply with the health protocols or acted in a manner that contributed to further Covid-19 transmission (Kompas, 23/9/2020).
Hopefully, these affirmations reflect awareness among political parties that their candidates must demonstrate their quality. The regional elections is not an arena for risking public lives, and the party cadres are not angels of death, sacrificing human lives for political victory. The public truly hopes that the regional elections will be a contest of doing mutual good to save the citizenry, the nation and the state. The fundamental reasons and primary objectives of the regional elections must be recalled: The first is to produce effective regional leadership and communities for managing and administering regional policies; the second is to strengthen the system of national governance in the establishment of the unitary state.