Ensuring the 2024 Elections is run independently, honestly, fairly, with legal certainty in an orderly, open, proportional, professional, accountable and effective is the challenge facing the new KPU and Bawaslu.
By
KOMPAS EDITOR
·3 minutes read
TANGKAPAN LAYAR
Screenshot of the Selection Team for Candidates for Members of the General Elections Commission and the Election Supervisory Body announcing the names of 14 KPU commissioner candidates and 10 Bawaslu commissioner candidates who were handed over to the President, at the Bogor Presidential Palace, Thursday (6/1/2022).
The steps the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) take in the next few weeks will greatly determine the journey of democracy in this country. Do not choose the wrong election organizers.
The candidate selection team for the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) submitted on Thursday (6/1/2022) the names of 14 candidates for the KPU and 10 candidates for the Bawaslu to President Joko Widodo at Bogor Palace in West Java. Within the next 14 days, the President will submit the candidates’ names to the DPR for a fit and proper test, after which seven KPU members and five Bawaslu members will be selected for the 2022-2027 period.
Of the 24 candidates submitted by the selection team, no legal or ethical anomalies have been found thus far. However, during this period, the public needs to participate in the process by looking at the candidates’ profiles and informing the selection team and the DPR of any disparities they find.
The DPR, especially the members of Commission II that will conduct the fit and proper test, should take advantage of this short time to choose the best KPU and Bawaslu members and not rely solely on political lobbies.
TANGKAPAN LAYAR
Screenshot of the Selection Team for Candidates for Members of the General Elections Commission and the Election Supervisory Body asking the KPU member candidate, August Mellaz (right) in an interview test for candidates for KPU and Bawaslu members for the 2022-2027 term which was broadcast on Youtube on Tuesday (28/12/2021) ).
Those selected should be loyal to Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity, the national motto), the ideals of the 17 August 1945 Proclamation, posses integrity, strong character, and be honest and fair. They should also have knowledge and expertise in election, state and party administration. These are only a few of the requirements. Even though they might seem normative, this country often makes the wrong choice in practice because it does not carefully take the candidates’ track records into consideration, and instead prioritizes [political] proximity or external observations.
History records that legal violations have occurred many times within the KPU, from the corruption case involving KPU commissioners for the 2001-2005 term to the latest bribery case involving KPU commissioners for the 2017-2022 term. Legal expert Rivai Kusumanegara noted that over the last six years, 44 corruption cases involving the KPU have occurred in various regions. The number of corruption cases implicating members among the Bawaslu’s ranks is similar, 43 cases. As for ethical violations, a total of 1,046 election organizers have been handed down sanctions for ethical violations.
Different from the challenges of previous terms, the challenges faced by the KPU and Bawaslu this time around may even be more difficult. The 2024 general elections will be a complicate election because the elections for the president and vice president, the DPR, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), the Provincial Legislative Councils (DPRDs), and the Regency/Municipal DPRDs will be held simultaneously that year, along with the election of regional heads. On the other hand, the Covid-19 pandemic that has changed many aspects of life, is still ongoing and it is not certain when it will end. An emergency situation could happen at any time.
Ensuring that the 2024 General Elections is run independently, honestly, fairly, with legal certainty in an orderly, open, proportional, professional, accountable, effective, and efficient manner in a situation full of uncertainty is the challenge facing the new KPU and Bawaslu. It will not be easy. Only the best people and highest solidarity will be able to handle it.
