CIDISS. The noken system is a system used in voting, especially for the province of Papua. By the Election Commission (KPU), noken became an important part in the implementation of Papua’s elections, especially for Papuans from mountain areas. In the technical guidelines (Juknis) KPU Papua No. 1 of 2013, noken used as a substitute for the ballot box.
Noken istem is part of local wisdom in community democracy. The Constitutional Court (MK) also acknowledges and endorses on the grounds that the Noken System embraces the Direct, General, Free and Open (LUBET) election system, in accordance with Decree No. 47-48 / PHPU.A-VI / 2009 in accordance with article 18B paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution which states, “The State recognizes and respects the unity of indigenous and tribal peoples together with their traditional rights as long as they are alive and in accordance with the development of society and the principle of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, as governed by the Law”.
However, the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) will tighten the oversight of the noken system applied in elections in a number of areas in Papua. This is because based on the evaluation of Bawaslu, in the previous general election, the noken system is often irregular in its implementation. Based on the records of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), the problems encountered in the use of the noken system, among other problems of the noken system are related to the determination and rationing of vote acquisition for candidate pairs by chiefs with their citizens, which is not regarded as a stage in the decision KPU. On the other hand, there is still a problem of tribal dominance, causing no representation of the votes of a number of other tribes. In addition, voice claims with a system of noken in dispute disputes in the Constitutional Court are based largely on unfathomable evidence by the plaintiff or related parties.
The neutralization and quantity of local election organizers as well as the security apparatus are also crucial factors to prevent conflicts in the noken system. So far, the noken system has become the main system in determining candidates for regional heads in Papua, but not a few are also problematic because it uses the system. For that, it should be considered for review in order to find the best solution about this system. An approach that takes local wisdom is necessary to prevent or reduce horizontal conflicts caused by this system.
By: Mirwan Achmad *)
