CIDISS. 2018 has entered September, meaning that in the next few months Indonesia will face presidential and vice presidential elections. With the implementation of the general election, the political situation in Indonesia tends to warm up. Each party began to formulate a strategy to become the leader of this country. Waves of politics began to emerge because energy would be given more often by political elites, both their capacity to respond or part of strategies to achieve goals. The energy propagation is expected not to cause chaos in the community order.
The 2019 election is the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) which aims to make checks and balances between the president and the DPR. The Constitutional Court also stated that the simultaneous implementation of elections will affect the efficiency of the budget. So that the financing of the organization saves the state money from taxpayers as well as the exploitation of natural resources and other economic resources. With this efficiency, it will certainly increase the ability of the state to achieve the goals of the state as mandated in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution which, among other things, is to advance the general welfare and to the greatest extent possible for the prosperity of the people.
In addition, simultaneous elections will also play a role in maintaining voter psychology, to minimize the possibility of social conflict due to prolonged political tensions. In addition, there are other implications that are not less important, namely the existence of a change in the culture of democracy that is built. At the very least, the political coalition culture that has been based on pragmatic and temporal reasons. With the simultaneous election, the coalition will slowly move towards the parmanen coalition.
Even more, if seen based on the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections conducted after the legislative election, a political fact was found that there had been political negotiations and bargaining in advance with political parties, as part of the logical consequences of supporting his election as president and the support of the DPR in administering the government. Not to mention the negotiations and bargaining in fact more are tactical and momentary rather than strategic and long-term. Therefore, the president in fact becomes very dependent on political parties which according to the Constitutional Court can reduce the position of the president in exercising the power of government according to the presidential government system.
Political play as an art in gaining power is neatly exposed through the steps taken by each political party official. As part of the strategy, it is legitimate because the purpose of the strategy is power. The strategy battle ahead of the 2019 presidential election has the potential for a crisis, both in the form of communication and action. The crisis is very difficult to avoid because of the opinion that each candidate is the best to win the voters’ votes. Therefore, it is expected that anyone who is running for the 2019 Presidential Election should prioritize the interests of the nation and the state as its top priority, so that Indonesia continues to move as a just and prosperous country. Go ahead with my leaders, Go Indonesia.
By: Mirwan Achmad *)