By : Arzan Malik Narendra )*
The 2024 Simultaneous Elections mark a crucial moment for the sovereignty of the Indonesian people. The General Election Commission (KPU) invites the entire community to work together to fight fake news and post-truth politics by increasing media and information literacy, as well as sharing electoral literacy.
In facing political challenges over the last two decades, the KPU believes that increasing the quality and quantity of voter participation on February 14 2024 is an important step. Speaking in Jakarta, member of the Indonesian KPU, Idham Holik, expressed his confidence that Indonesia, despite facing a global decline in democracy, would continue to have a positive trend in holding elections.
Idham Holik emphasized that democracy is an important element in international diplomacy and an integral part of Indonesia’s national branding. Even though several tensions have occurred, democracy in Indonesia remains under control and has resilience in facing the global issue of democracy experiencing setbacks.
2024 is considered the year of popular sovereignty because it involves simultaneous presidential, legislative and regional head elections. The 2024 Simultaneous Election involves 2,749 electoral districts with a total of 204,807,222 voters, including the Indonesian diaspora.
Idham Holik believes that active participation in elections is the key for society to determine the direction of the nation. In facing the election, the KPU focuses on providing electoral literacy to ensure voters have a deep understanding of the candidates and the programs they are promoting. Despite the uncertainty, the KPU is optimistic that the elections in 2024 will run better, maintaining the democracy that has become Indonesia’s hallmark.
The importance of media and information literacy is a major highlight in the KPU’s efforts to fight post-truth politics. According to Idham Holik, disseminating accurate and verified information is a crucial step to avoid exposure to fake news or hoaxes which can influence people’s views of potential leaders and political parties.
Therefore, the KPU not only emphasizes physical participation in elections, but also views the importance of people’s intellectual participation in filtering and understanding the information they receive.
Furthermore, the KPU’s efforts to increase electoral literacy also involve active community participation in sharing knowledge and information related to general elections. The KPU hopes that the public will not only become informed voters but also become agents of change in spreading knowledge regarding the election process, voting procedures, and a deep understanding of the constitution and election-related regulations.
In this context, the KPU collaborates with various parties, including academics, civil society activists and mass media, to organize discussion forums, seminars and electoral literacy training.
Involving sources from various backgrounds and points of view is expected to provide a more comprehensive and thorough understanding to the community. It is hoped that active community involvement in these forums can create an environment that supports the constructive exchange of ideas and information.
2024, according to Idham, will not only be the year of simultaneous general elections, but also a momentum for the Indonesian people to show their political maturity. In facing various tensions and global issues, Idham stated that Indonesia is on the right track, becoming a pioneer in holding quality and fair elections.
While the KPU takes a role in educating the public about elections, the police also participate in ensuring that elections are peaceful and free from illegal levies. Taman Sari Police Chief, AKP Agus Prastiawan, is actively deploying his personnel to socialize Saber Extortion and the call to maintain the 2024 Peaceful Elections in all areas under the Taman Sari Police Department.
In the Saber Extortion outreach activities, the public is given the understanding that every act of extortion has legal consequences and can be punished. This effort is also directed at preventing the practice of illegal levies that can harm the community. Prastiawan emphasized that the police are committed to creating good public services and preventing illegal levies that could harm the community.
The socialization of Saber Extortion is not only a preventive step to reduce the practice of illegal levies, but also a form of active participation by the police in creating a safe and peaceful environment ahead of the 2024 elections. This activity is expected to provide a better understanding to the public about the importance of fighting the practice of illegal levies. and maintaining the integrity of democracy.
Apart from that, the police are also conveying public security messages and appeals to the community ahead of the 2024 elections. This aims to ensure that the community maintains harmony in neighborly life, and is not easily provoked by issues whose truth has not been verified, especially those that often arise before the election period.
The public is expected to actively play a role in fighting incorrect politics in the 2024 elections. Increasing media and electoral literacy is the main key to fortifying democracy and ensuring quality voter participation. All parties, including the KPU and the police, are committed to creating a safe environment, avoiding the practice of illegal levies, and increasing active community participation in maintaining security and order ahead of the upcoming 2024 general elections.
In this way, society is at the forefront of maintaining the prosperity of democracy in Indonesia. In the end, the 2024 Simultaneous Election is expected to be a historical milestone that marks the political maturity of the Indonesian nation in facing various global challenges.
)* The author is a contributor to the Nusa Cyber Institute