The General Elections Commission (KPU) has scheduled a series of election debates between the presidential candidates, vice-presidential candidates and two pairs: Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno. The first debate will be held on Jan. 17, 2019.
As the political climate heats up with the emergence of fake news (hoaxes) and slander on social media, which in turn have led to hate speech between supporters of the rival camps, the debates between the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are seen as a medium to educate the people. Moreover, the debates are expected to be a channel for each presidential and vice-presidential candidate to convince the people that they will compete in the presidential election in a peaceful and civilized manner.
The importance of debating
Election debates are basically about implementing Jean-Jacques Rousseau\'s (1712-1778) concept of a social contract. This pattern will be used as an arena for each presidential and vice-presidential candidate to determine and understand the will and needs of the people, who will enter an indirect contract with them.
Through debates, political leaders and citizens are given broad authority to set priorities for public policies according to their needs. So, the debates themselves are not intended to define right or wrong views and ideas of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, but rather to summarize the public\'s wishes and needs.
Debates are positively correlated with consensus between citizens and presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Therefore, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates must not be detached from the root problems entangling the people, nor from their political culture. So, the programs being offered reflect the coherence and synchronization of the will between the public and the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The debates can also reduce the distance between leaders and the people while narrowing the gap between the ideals of leaders and the reality of their people.
A democratic culture always assumes a form of modern society characterized by rationality in choosing political leaders. The debates will create a conducive atmosphere for the people to exercise rationality through the contest of ideas and the testing of programs proposed by their prospective leaders.
The debates will also encourage people to avoid various forms of agitation, provocation, mystification or personality cults based on ethnicity, religion, race or social group (SARA). These are all the enemies of democracy. The debates, thus, will educate the public to think critically, which is nothing but the core of civic education politics.
Peaceful presidential election
In Winner of the First 1960 Televised Presidential Debate between Kennedy and Nixon (1996), Sydney Kraus highlights the importance of disseminating political leaders\' ideas, messages, vision, mission and programs through debates. In the context of the 2019 presidential election, the debates are intended to convince the people that the upcoming presidential election will be peaceful and civilized.
In the debates between the competing political leaders, the public can read their gestures, views and political attitudes on sensitive issues that get attention and become the needs of the people. So, the peaceful and civilized presidential election will not only be written on social media slogans designed by campaign teams and supporters of political parties but also in the way they speak, programs and political appointments of presidential and vice presidential candidates through the debates.
Debate arrangement
To ensure quality debates between the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, the KPU needs to rigidly and with legal certainty develop various technical arrangements. First, the procedures must prioritize fairness in the debates between the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Second, the topics and the material of the debates must be significant for the needs and interests of the people at present and in the future.
Third, the questions of the debates must be nondiscriminatory and the timing and duration for the answers must be accurate.
Fourth, the channels and timing of broadcasting must allow people in all corners of the country to follow the debates.
Fifth, the moderators and panelists must be well versed in the debate topics and not take sides with one of the presidential and vice-presidential camps.
Sixth, the questions must be free from bias on momentary political interests and be well intended, not hostile. (Agus Riewanto, Lecturer of Constitutional Law, School of Law, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta)
