By: Gani Permata
The 2019 presidential election was getting closer, the attack on the General Election Commission (KPU) became increasingly intense and deadly. KPU’s performance has increasingly become the spotlight and targets of criticism from the opposition. Starting from the criticism of the KPU which was considered to be in favor of the incumbent because it canceled the socialization of the vision and mission, the policy of granting the presidential and vice presidential debate, to the last regarding the issue of seven ballots that had been cast.
Now the Chairman of the Honorary Board of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Amien Rais, threatens to attack the KPU if the election organizing institution is proven to have committed fraud. This was stated in the Prabowo-Sandi National Secretary Discussion entitled “Malari Reflection, Change the Country Master?”. Amien Rais stressed that he would encourage the joint mass movement to attack the KPU if later there was evidence of fraud in the implementation of the Regional Government.
“Watch out, KPU should not cheat. If it is proven, we will come down together to attack the KPU, “said Amien Rais.
Responding to the statement of Amien Rais, KPU Commissioner Viryan Aziz said that his party would use the statement as a motivation to work honestly and fairly. While the Chairperson of the KPU, Arief Budiman interpreted the criticism and attacks directed at the KPU as an effort to delegitimize the organizers of the Election. Because, if the KPU’s legitimacy in the General Election is disputed, it will have an impact on the degradation of public trust in each policy issued by the KPU in the future.
The incumbent through the Deputy Chair of the National Campaign Team (TKN) of Jokowi-Ma’ufuf, Johnny G. Plate, considered that Amien’s statement seemed to be a sign of the chaotic engineering of the Election if Jokowi was elected. Accusing KPU of being cheating in the 2019 Election shows an arrogant and excessive attitude. Moreover, fraud is only intended for the presidential election, so it becomes very tendentious.
“There is the potential for engineering chaos Kongo Congo Election’ if Jokowi-Ma’ruf wins the 2019 Presidential Election. At present the potential is still in the form of political terror to the KPU as Amien Rais said. The statement is at least congruent with the Congo scenario, “Johnny said.
The Congo scenario is a report that highlights the politicization of electoral institutions ahead of the legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of 2018. Two election administrators, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) and the Constitutional Court, are suspected of carrying out a series of manipulative actions against the election process in Congo. The politicization of the organizers of the Election occurred because most members of CENI and the Constitutional Court today showed closeness to the Congolese President’s coalition, Joseph Kabila. Thus, the role of institutions responsible for ensuring transparency in the electoral process is almost ineffective. This is an illustration that the election organizing institutions are indeed vulnerable to manipulation.
Criticism and attacks that were constantly made by the Prabowo-Sandi opposition to the KPU raised questions about the meaning behind their critical attitude towards the institution. The opposition looks insecure with its current position so that it takes a political strategy to delegitimize the results of the election that will still take place. Therefore, the public was asked to be vigilant with the veiled intention behind the accusation that the KPU was cheating.
* Student at University of Persada Indonesia