Not a ‘Pemilu’ Republic

The 2024 general election is the right time to conduct political education so the people understand how to choose their public representatives, regional heads, president, and other officials ho are competent.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO (KUM) 18-04-2013

J Kristiadi

The sacred argument of Indonesia's system of governance is the republic. In essence, the people hold the highest sovereignty in the administration of state power. The main objective is to build a political civilization that respects the inherent values of humanity.

Unfortunately however, as the days approach the celebration of the people's sovereignty, the 2024 General Election (Pemilu), the democratic process is being dragged down by a wave of kleptocracy (sovereign thieves), money politics and the hardening of political oligarchy.

The latest multidimensional study on the realization of democracy in Indonesia appears in the book Dari Stagnasi ke Regresi (From Stagnation to Regression; Usman Hamid et al, PT Gramedia, Jakarta, 2021). This is a global phenomenon. The democratic process is always followed by a reversal towards authoritarianism. The tendency for this pattern will always recur if democracy is not accompanied with strong institutional instruments and internalized ideals as the basis of public policy. A study of such behavior and other matters was conducted by Samuel Huntington (The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, 1991), who describes the democratic wave in several countries from 1974 to 1990.

Also read:

> Misguided Dream in Search of a “Strong” Leader

> Testing the Desire to Build the New Capital

Countless empirical studies at the global level and critical domestic studies on democracy have been unable to strengthen the aims of the political elite to develop a long-term strategy on building the democratic order. The general elections are increasingly losing their integrity as they become dominated by political adventurers and brokers.

The voice of the people, as a manifestation of the owners of sovereignty, is only worth the price of basic necessities and statistical figures. Gathering the people’s vote is simply a means of bargaining over the power of the elite. In the people's view, the general elections are a mere mirage: visible, but with no real results the “little people”. In fact, the people are the legitimate owners of state power.

The people's representatives, who are supposed to champion their interests, have even displaced the values of civilization that are an inherent characteristic of the "Republic". The political culture that has been painstakingly carved out inch by inch is being gradually undermined by various political pathologies, so institutional development becomes neglected and the state becomes paralyzed.

Ahead of the 2024 General Election, the reverse path to democratization is approaching a very critical point, getting closer to the corner that will lead to the rise of the tyrannical authoritarian state. This is an existential threat to democracy.

The initial trigger was the ridiculously insane idea of postponing the general elections and extending the presidential term to three terms. In an instant, these baseless ideas were confirmed by their existence and role as a mass movement that builds an individual cult culture. The form is determination by giving a grandiose predicate to certain figures, political projects and maneuvers that are very easily overridden by sectarian issues.

In addition, polemics without rationale produced wild speculations that were not impossible to strike back at the initiators and intellectual actors. For example, rumor began to spread that the lead initiator had the following scenario: In the initial scene, this figure becomes the vice presidential nominee if the hypothetical pairing becomes a reality. In the next scene, one to two years later, the president is forced to resign from office through political engineering and automatically, the figure is elevated to the presidency. This narrative is not impossible in a political realm that is accustomed to overcoming the impossible.

Also read:

> Political Sanity and Common Sense

> Honing the Sense of the Signs of the Times

In the President's latest affirmation expressing his rejection of this shallow idea, he stressed for the umpteenth time that the general election would still be held in 2024. This was further drive home by his order that the necessary regulations be completed immediately. He is well aware that this indiscriminate idea is a trap that can crush democracy (Kompas, Monday, 10/4/2022).

This statement really needs to be reiterated because the initiators, supporters, partisans, and their political tools are very aggressive, confident, and heated. Maybe this is because they feel they have the support of some figure who possess extraordinary political power. Their behavior is like that of a warhorse: prancing about, its mane swaying over the nape of its neck, its forelegs pawing at the ground, signaling that he is ready to head into battle.

Indonesia is not a Pemilu republic, but a republic whose sacred maxims are inscribed in the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution. The state was formed to make the Indonesian people prosperous and happy. The 2024 general election is the right time to conduct political education so the people understand how to choose their public representatives, regional heads, president, and other officials who are competent and deserving of the honor and mandate of power to carry out their noble duties.

J. KRISTIADI, Senior Researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.