By: Dina Kahyang Putri )*
The 2024 general election (Pemilu) is getting closer, politicians and party sympathizers are developing various strategies to gain votes from various groups. Vigilance is an absolute thing for the people because election participants and their campaign teams may use any means to get as many votes as possible, including the practice of money politics and black campaigns.
The Cirebon City Bawaslu asked the public not to be influenced by counterproductive matters related to elections such as money politics and black campaigns. Especially ahead of the momentum of the 2024 election which is predicted to be hot.
M Joharudin as chairman of the Cirebon City Bawaslu said that money politics could degrade public voice at the moment of the five-year democratization party, so this dirty practice must be avoided. He also reminded candidates and political parties not to use money politics to gain votes.
He said, usually the KPU also regulates in detail what can and cannot be done by election participants, namely political parties and candidates during campaigns. This is done for the sake of holding clean and dignified elections.
Apart from that, another potential that the people of Cirebon City need to watch out for in the 2024 General Election is black campaigns, especially on social media. Black campaigns on social media are the cheapest way to play political narratives. Even just creating a social media account can be made without paying a fee. This action, which is often called a black campaign, needs to be watched out for by the public because the majority of people now have personal cellphones that are connected to the internet.
However, he believes that the cyber team from the police is very competent and has adequate equipment to uncover black campaigns on social media, even if they use anonymous accounts. The involvement of the police apparatus is of course a vital role in reducing political provocations that exist in cyberspace.
Joharudin said that severe sanctions would await individuals who are proven to have carried out black campaigns or money politics during the 2024 elections. Moreover, the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) also has a Gakkumdu Sentra, which is a combination of various agencies including the police to take action against any alleged violations.
His party also warned the 2024 election participants not to carry out campaigns in inappropriate places, such as places of worship, educational facilities and government facilities that are not rented out. If this happens, the person concerned can be subject to sanctions. If it is declared proven to have violated, the heaviest sanction is disqualification from election participants.
Bawaslu and KPU have implemented strict regulations for election participants who are proven to have committed violations. This is because fraud in elections is an act that tarnishes the spirit of democracy.
Threats for perpetrators of money politics are also listed in article 515 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning general elections (Pemilu). Article 515 of the Election Law reads, “Anyone who deliberately during voting promises or gives money or other materials to voters so they will not exercise their right to vote or vote for certain election participants or use their voting rights in a certain way so that their ballot papers are invalid, will be punished with maximum imprisonment of 3 years and a maximum fine of Rp. 36,000,000.
Money politics itself is an attempt to bribe voters by providing money or services so that voter preferences can be given to bribes. There are also various types of money politics. There are things that can be categorized as money politics, such as the use of state facilities for personal gain in connection with elections or local elections. Other types of money politics can be in the form of providing highway facilities or providing bridge facilities that use the state budget for personal gain.
Ahmad Nur as Chair of the Alliance of Caring for Democracy hopes that the public can play an active role in monitoring and supervising the election implementation process. Of course this cannot be separated from the related agency stakholders, especially the Bawaslu. So that people do not need to hesitate to report if they find election violations.
In addition, the thing that undermines the dignity of the election is the presence of a black campaign, the term black campaign itself refers to the behavior of someone who campaigns by badmouthing his political opponents. Examples of activities that fall into the black campaign category are removing campaign props, pitting the community against each other or threatening the community.
The black campaign phenomenon itself is still abundant and can actually be found on social media channels, in general they only badmouth political opponents to the point where they forget to campaign for the politicians they carry. Especially now that someone can make media without having to spend a lot of money.
In Indonesia, black campaigns and money politics still occur frequently because new campaign violations will be prosecuted if there is a complaint or report to Bawaslu first. Therefore, the public needs to be aware of political movements that actually lead to fraudulent practices ahead of the 2024 elections.
)* The author is a contributor to Persada Institute