This article was first published in Kompas on 31 January 2024. This article has been translated using AI.
Various electoral frauds and violations are occurring systematically and it feels very difficult to stop them.
Elections are on the horizon. Legislative candidates and presidential and vice presidential candidates are competing to win votes.
They try to convince voters: starting from debating on stage to aggressively spreading hope in the grand campaign. All promise a better Indonesia in various ways. However, as the election day approaches, more and more questions arise that make us doubt: will this election truly lead our nation towards where we want to go?
We must be brave to speak the truth. This election is held in a less than ideal situation. Let’s face it: nothing is “normal”, “common”, or “fine” even though it may seem that way on the surface. People are starting to worry, even angry, with various practices that increasingly openly neglect ethics and violate various rules towards the election, all believed to only serve to win a certain pair of candidates.
Some of this anxiety and anger is suppressed and not expressed due to concern and fear. Others have started to openly express themselves, risking repression and even criminalization. This is the time to think and weigh, using our hearts and minds, about our own future. It is not just about who will become the leader of the country. Nor is it about ensuring the continuity of development.
However, more fundamentally: this is a matter of principles, ethics, and morals. Because what is really at stake is the essence of our shared life, namely the idea called Indonesia.
Indonesia is an idea and agreement about a shared future that is aspired towards based on belief in God, humanity, unity, democracy, and justice.
Idea
Indonesia is not only a former Dutch East Indies colony or an area of tens of thousands of islands or a place where hundreds of millions of people from various ethnic and religious groups live. Indonesia is an idea and agreement about a shared future to be achieved on the basis of divinity, humanity, unity, democracy, and justice. This is stated in the foundation of the country: the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution.
With that idea, we have been building all this time. Starting from building human through health and education, handling poverty and inequality, strengthening the economic joints to be more productive and fair, protecting the environment, to improving law and governance.
We have worked very hard – at least since the 1998 reform era until this decade. Much has been achieved: leaving behind the status of a poor country and becoming a middle to high income country, decentralization that has increased the capacity of local governments and narrowed the gap between Java and other regions, as well as the majority of poor citizens who are increasingly protected through various social assistance programs.
For almost a decade under President Joko Widodo’s (Jokowi) administration, building infrastructure connectivity has become a priority along with downstreaming to ensure that the added value is enjoyed domestically. Bureaucracy and government governance have also been reformed, among other things.
However, nothing is perfect. The distribution of development outcomes and welfare has not yet been fully achieved and enjoyed by those who live under the embrace of Mother Earth. Poverty and inequality continue to haunt, health and education status still need significant improvement, the economy is still driven more by consumption than production, and the environment remains damaged due to exploitation and extraction that has not been restored.
Corruption is still rampant like a pandemic and the law has not been enforced. We have not gotten out of the middle-income trap for the past 30 years. And, if we don’t immediately get out of this trap, Indonesia will be “old before it’s rich” (Chatib Basri, Kompas, 8/30/2023).
So, what should we do?
We must continue to build, but we must do it better: not only more advanced, but also more just and sustainable for everyone and the environment. We also need to be agile and quick. Why? Because we are racing against time: the demographic bonus – when the majority of the population is of productive age – will end in 15 years.
This is our chance. If we miss it, Indonesia’s 2045 advancement will just be a dream. This is the challenge before us, whoever sits on the driver’s seat of the next government.
Challenge
Responding to this challenge is at the heart of the current issue: after the Jokowi administration, how will the next government lead and take advantage of opportunities to advance the country? That is why 2024 Election is key.
This is because the election is not just about choosing the president, vice president, and parliamentary members, but also about choosing where and how this country will be built and run. Both cannot be separated. However, the first will determine the second.
First and foremost, with such a fundamental role, elections must be guarded and ensured to run directly, publicly, freely, secretly, honestly, and fairly. Never forget: the quality of elections determines the quality of government (executive and legislative) that it produces, which ultimately determines the quality of development. However, in reality, various election fraud and violations are currently occurring in such a systematic manner, and it feels so difficult to stop or even resist.
The situation is so bizarre that we thought democracy was committing suicide. The election, which should have been the pinnacle of democratic power contestation practices, turned into a stage for drama full of intrigue without shame in violating norms and ethics, hiding behind the pretext of democracy.
This is because the election is not just about choosing the president, vice president, and parliament members, but also about choosing where and how this country will be built and run.
And, what is very distressing is that in all these problems a key figure is involved on whose shoulders we entrust the mandate of maintaining democracy in this country: Jokowi (“Election Reflections”, Kompas, 22-27/1/2024) .
However, isn’t all of this made possible because of democracy itself? That’s true. But democracy cannot be blamed. It is indeed imperfect – and there is no perfection under the sky. But our conscience knows that what is happening now is not an effort to nurture democracy, but rather to stab and kill itself.
The most piercing stab was actually not when the Constitutional Court approved Gibran Rakabuming Raka as vice presidential candidate (William Liddle, Kompas, 26/1/2024) or when Jokowi said the president and ministers could take sides and campaign (Kompas< /i>, 1/24/2024). However, when we feel we no longer have hope of saving—let alone winning—true democracy.
That’s why we have to fight: to maintain hope for the future. Why? Because what is being torn apart is the fundamental idea of our raison d’etre as a nation. Ethics and morals, more than just rules, as the essential foundation for building the future are ignored, damaged, and even destroyed. And, this was all done precisely for the reason of continuing development.
This is where we can have a clearer view on the second issue: the consequences of this election on development. The election should provide hope for a better future for the nation through development. However, in the hands of dark forces that manipulate democracy, the election is used as a platform to spread fear: development will not continue if you do not choose him.
The consequences even extend to the matter of life and death for citizens. Just look at the narrative that social aid (bansos) will not be continued if certain candidate pairs fail to win the election. It’s as if bansos is owned by the candidate pairs, when in fact it is clearly a government program. This is not only a deception to the public, but also an unethical manipulation.
So, when it comes to development in elections, remember this one thing: no civilized nation has succeeded in building and advancing without meaningful democracy. Crushing democracy is equivalent to crushing the future of the nation. Therefore, the democracy that we have been fighting for – especially since the 1998 reformation – must not regress. Quite simply, if we still want a better and more democratic Indonesia, we must be brave enough to say “no” to all forms of violations and cheating in these elections.
However, we cannot do it alone. We must have the courage to move together, invite, demand, and even force all parties to be willing to preserve our collective life called Indonesia, so that it does not fall into ruin.
Exclamation
The main appeal is addressed to President Jokowi to use this election as an opportunity to show himself as a statesman, not just a politician. Its role is important in reorganizing state life and maintaining commitment to reform and democracy.
He must stop all maneuvers to win a certain candidate pair, ensure that the elections run constitutionally, and for that he must be willing to clarify his statement about his neutrality as president and all his staff in the bureaucracy. This is important to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure the legitimacy of the election results later on.
Next, it is important for all election organizers—the General Election Commission (KPU), Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu), and Electoral Organizer Honorary Council (DKPP)—to realize their commitment to conducting all election processes in accordance with the constitution and laws and regulations. The most important thing is to maintain the credibility of the election organizers themselves and ensure that there is no intervention from anyone to guarantee that all stages of the election are carried out professionally, transparently, honestly, and fairly until completion.
It seems as though the social assistance program belongs to a certain candidate pair, when in reality it is a clear government program. This is not just public deception, but also unethical manipulation.
Thirdly, it is important for presidential and vice presidential candidates, political party leaders, and campaign teams to follow all electoral processes according to the constitution and laws. Specifically, those who hold positions as government officials should immediately resign – not just take leave – to close all gaps for the use of state facilities.
The campaign must be peaceful and prioritize the competition of ideas, not spreading unrest, incitement, lies and deception. Elections must be won fairly without harming the spirit of democracy, without cheating, without money politics, especially by exploiting power.
Therefore, the quartet called upon the ranks of central and regional government leaders, including leaders of state-owned and regional-owned enterprises, to ensure neutrality. This means ensuring that national resources, tools, and facilities are not mobilized for political interests during the election. They must be bold in preventing state assets from being used to pressure and influence parties that do not align and direct support towards a particular pair of candidates.
Therefore, it is imperative that the armed forces, police, and all law enforcement officials remain loyal to their oath to uphold defense, security, and laws throughout Indonesia. They cannot be partisan or a tool for certain political groups to gain power through elections. They must be fair to all contestants and prioritize the interests of the people above all else.
Specifically in the business world, especially for big businessmen who have been building close relationships with those in power, it is wise to use their political rights to prevent the election from causing economic upheaval for this nation. Let us not allow the election to become a platform for transactions among the elite, disregarding the interests of the public and sacrificing the national economy.
Finally, to ensure that civil society including media and intellectuals continue to monitor the election process to ensure transparency, fairness, and democracy. The media must professionally disseminate factual information, be non-partisan, and free from intervention, whether from the government, security forces, or election candidates.
Intellectuals must be willing to come down from their ivory towers of knowledge and become organic intellectuals (Gramsci, 1929-1935) blending in with the community to uphold the flame of democracy. Civil society organizations should consolidate themselves and actively participate in monitoring the entire election process from campaigning, voting, to ballot counting to maintain the legitimacy of its results.
Finally: be true to the idea
At present, there is a sense of national solidarity that has been injured, and the government seems to be absent: unable to do anything to nurture life together.
In this situation, maintaining and winning democracy feels extremely difficult. However, despite the challenge, this effort is worth fighting for. Our goal is not to attain electoral victory, but to ensure the preservation of democracy and the ideals of reform within the framework of the idea called Indonesia.
Expressing resistance against the political rulers’ oppression in this election may be our last defense in fighting for democracy. Hopefully, we realize that loyalty to the idea of Indonesia will continuously act as the foundation of this nation. The incoming president, no matter how much we idolize and praise them, will never guarantee the perseverance of democracy- perhaps like Jokowi currently.
Editor: SRI HARTATI SAMHADI, YOHANES KRISNAWAN
