Covid-19 Pandemic Tests Democracy’s Resiliency and Relevance

KOMPAS/KRISTIAN OKA PRASETYADI

Voters at TPS 003 Bumi Beringin, Wenang, Manado, North Sulawesi, wash their hands before voting on voting day, Wednesday (9/12/2020). The 2020 Pilkada in North Sulawesi was attended by 1.83 million voters at 5,809 polling stations.

As the Covid-19 pandemic has shown no signs of abating, the public continues to express its trust in democracy. Tens of millions of voters went to the polls on Dec. 9, 2020. Such spirit must be welcomed by the elites by listening to people’s aspirations and formulating policies that are relevant to their needs.

According to General Elections Commission (KPU) data, as of Monday (14/12/2020), the average rate of voter participation stood at 75.83 percent. This figure is higher than the level of voter participation in regional elections held in 2015 (69.2 percent), 2017 (74.5 percent) and 2018 (73.2 percent). Meanwhile, voter participation in the 2019 general election reached 81 percent.

High voter participation during electoral contestations shows that the “of the people” aspect of a democratic government has been relatively fulfilled. Regardless, there is no guarantee that the elites elected at the legislative and executive branches will follow suit and realize the remaining two aspects of democracy, namely the “by the people” and the “for the people” aspects.

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The discrepancy between public expectation and the elites’ actions has become a chronic problem. Eight years ago, the then Constitutional Court chief justice, Mahfud MD, issued a warning in his speech entitled “The Limit of People’s Power” that democracy had been eroded. Democratic practices were no longer “of the people, by the people and for the people”, but rather “of the people, by the elites and for the elites” (mkri.id, 19/10/2012).

A number of corruption cases involving regional leaders that have been uncovered by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) amid the pandemic indicates that Mahfud’s warning still bears some truth today. A portion of policies formulated by the elites are designed for their own interests, rather than the general public.

KOMPAS/VINA OKTAVIA

Members of the polling station working committee (KPPS) at the Voting Station (TPS) 005 Bumi Waras Village, Bumi Waras District, Bandar Lampung City, distributed masks to residents who wanted to vote, Wednesday (9/12/2020).

The corruption scandals that allegedly implicate Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo and Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara are particularly ironic since they occurred amid this difficult time, in which the rate of unemployment is soaring. For instance, while investigating the lobster larvae export corruption case, in which Edhy is a suspect, the KPK seized numerous luxury goods such as a bicycle, bags and a wristwatch as evidence. It is suspected that these goods were purchased using bribe money.

Meanwhile, the corruption case implicating Juliari is related to Covid-19 social aid. Juliari allegedly accepted a “fee” of Rp 10,000 for every staple food aid package – worth Rp 300,000 each. Juliari is suspected of having received Rp 17 billion in total.

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These scandals have deeply hurt the public. Previously, the public had shown their great appreciation for the government for allocating a considerable amount of funds to strengthen people’s safety net amid the pandemic. A survey by Litbang Kompas in August, 2020, found that public satisfaction at the performance of Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin government stood at 58.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the legislative branch has been subject as well to public scrutiny following the hasty deliberation of several contentious bills during the pandemic, one of which is the Job Creation Law, the legislation of which was imbued by a wave of public demonstrations.

Democratic regression

Throughout 2020, public discourse has been infused with widespread concern over the potential impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, which could worsen democratic regression in the country. Such a concern is, to a large extent, prompted by the global trend of democratic decline accelerated by the pandemic. Several countries have reportedly violated democratic standards in their emergency efforts to combat the pandemic.

In its report entitled “The Pandemic Democratic Violations Index”, The Varieties of Democracy Institute in Sweden gives Indonesia a score of 0.25 based on data obtained from March to September. The score means that there have been several violations of democratic standards in Indonesia, but the violations are not large-scale in nature, which would result in a score higher than 0.3. Indonesia ranks 61st out of 144 countries surveyed.

Kompas

Source: Rule of Law Index 2017-2018 published by the World Justice Project

On the other hand, in past years, both Indonesian and foreign political researchers have considered democracy in Indonesia to be stagnant, while some even think that it has experienced a decline. On several occasions, civil society and academics have voiced their concern over the growing tendency toward a declining space for civil liberties.

Accountability means that the state must be responsive to the interests of the people.

The discrepancy between public expectations and elites’ actions as well as the decline of civil liberties, which are further exacerbated by public polarization, could erode horizontal trust (mutual trust between the people) and vertical trust (people’s trust in state institutions). Meanwhile, trust plays a crucial role in democracy.

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Among efforts that the elites may resort to is finding a new balance. Francis Fukuyama, in his book entitled “Political Order and Political Decay”, asserted the importance of finding a balance between three aspects, namely a strong state, law enforcement and accountability.

A strong state does not mean that it is repressive. In exercising its power, the state must also adhere to legal boundaries. The law applies to all people; the elites will not be excluded. Meanwhile, accountability means that the state must be responsive to the interests of the people. Could we find and strengthen this balance?