let select your choice
By: Dede August *)
“Postponement of elections should be interpreted as an opportunity to show a better democratic practice”
The simultaneously elections in 2015 which was held on December 9, 2015 still remains a problem. The serious problem that is still be public concern is the postponement of the elections in five regions, namely the city of Manado, Simalungun District, Pematangsiantar District, District Fakfak, and Central Kalimantan Province. This postponement was announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU) a few hours before the Election Day, i.e. on December 8, 2015 night.
The postponement of elections in those regions was occurred because of the five areas are still disputed in court and some of them had already been decided by State Administrative High Court (PT TUN). Central Kalimantan Province and Fakfak District already incracht. In addition, delays in Central Kalimantan also occur because of candidates who previously canceled to follow the election, has not been entered in the ballot paper, so that the ballots must be reprinted. Meanwhile, elections in the City of Manado, Simalungun District, and Pematangiantar District delayed because the trial has not been completed and is still waiting a final decision on the level of PT TUN.
Beside of these problems, the implementation of the simultaneous election in 2015 also has other problems, including the high of money political practices, lack of political participation, and the existence of fraud by certain elements. Homeland Minister Tjahjo Kumolo also had mentioned that money politics occurred in almost every constituency. Meanwhile, the implementation of election fraud occurred in Gowa, South Sulawesi, resulting in protests for re-election by one of the supporting period that led to the clash.
A rudimentary imagine of the elections December 9, 2015 implementation should be a lesson for all parties to be better in overseeing the implementation of the follow-up to the five regions election and re-election of Gowa. With the escort of all these parties, it is expected that the implementation of the supplementary elections can run with the condition.
A lonely efforts to escort was not enough, it is necessary for rising a mental revolution as delivered by the President of Joko Widodo. Referring to the explanation given by the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Information in Government Public Relations magazine 5th edition, June 2015, mental revolution first used by President Sukarno in 1957 when the national revolution was stopped. The gesture was an intended to galvanize Indonesian people in order to become a new people to be white, steel capabilities, hawk passionate, and fire blazing spirit. Then, whether the practice to success the postponed elections were so weighing? Certainly not.
The easiest thing to do is to use the right to vote as possible and no abstentions. In addition, because of the widespread practice of money politics in the last elections, the possibility of the same thing may happen in the five regions of the subsequent election. Therefore, the shape of the mental revolution to do is to firmly reject the practice of money politics and choose based on the will of conscience.
Embodiments of a mental revolution is not just simply done by the community alone. All relevant parties, such as the KPU, the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), and the Election Committee should also be able to carry out their duties in accordance with the regulations and not to commit fraud. And not quite up there, mental revolution must also be applied by each pair of candidates, which have the courage to be defeated, to accept the victory of the opponent, and not to seek to provoke when defeated.
Thus, the implementation of the supplementary election in the province of Central Kalimantan, the District of Manado, Pematangsiantar, Fakfak, and Simalungun course will run smoothly. The conditions will also demonstrate the existence of democratic practices that have evolved into a better direction.
*) Yunior Researcher Region Jakarta