By : Arzan Malik Narendra )*
The 2024 general election (Pemilu) is a democratic party that must be realized in a safe and peaceful manner. The success of this event does not only depend on the government and election management institutions, but also on Indonesian society in general.
Elections are an event where the people choose their own president, as well as members of the legislature. The election took place with great fanfare. Especially when the people could vote for their own presidential candidates (Capres), after the New Order they could only vote for parties, while the president never changed.
But unfortunately, after the gates of reform were opened and Indonesian citizens were allowed to choose their own leaders, there was the potential for social chaos to occur. Where the supporters of candidate A clash with candidate B, candidate C, and so on. They also fight openly in cyberspace, even carrying out black campaigns . Even though this is clearly prohibited by the KPU (General Election Commission).
Riau Islands KPU member Priyo Handoko stated that his party had signed a declaration for the 2024 Peaceful Election. This declaration was made at the FISIP Building at Raja Ali Haji University, Tanjungpinang, Riau.
Elections must take place peacefully because the people, especially the people of Riau, reflect on the experiences of the last 2 elections (2014 and 2019). At that time the competition between supporters of the presidential candidate was very fierce. Even though the character is mediocre and there is no psy war or anything else. However, there are supporters who love too much to vilify other parties.
The situation got worse because one party insulted the other with an inappropriate name. They carry out black campaigns on social media and create special hashtags . This war certainly makes other social media users feel uncomfortable. The reason is because they are not fanatical, and lazy to see twitwar every day.
Therefore, the KPU asks all levels of society, including students, to realize a peaceful 2024 election. Don’t let the bad situation a few years ago happen again. Elections must be peaceful so that the people are united and willing to see whoever the president is, even if they are not the champion.
For this reason, the KPU ensures that the 2024 elections will take place peacefully and this is evidenced by the signing of the declaration of peace on campus. The location was deliberately there because students are expected to take part in becoming supervisors so that the elections can take place peacefully, without chaos .
The students were chosen because they are agents of change. They have strong manpower so they can volunteer as volunteers during the voting. If there are volunteers from students, every fraud will be recorded and can go viral on social media. Elections will always be safe from vote bubbles, dawn attacks, and various other crimes.
Then the students can also ‘goalkeeper’ alias observe social media and become a mediator when there are 2 or more warring parties. With skills and quick thinking, they can become peacemakers so that no parties fight or do twit war when the election takes place.
Riots on social media must be prevented because the impact is terrible. First, this situation can be exploited by provocateurs. Second, hoaxes will easily spread quickly. Therefore, the KPU ensures that next year’s elections will be safe, by sending students as extensions. They support election security because they have a responsibility as good citizens.
Riau Islands Province Bawaslu member Zulhadri Putra stated that students and lecturers are at the forefront of guarding the implementation of direct democracy in the 2024 elections and 2024 regional elections. They are not only productive voters, but also have the capacity to keep democratic parties running peacefully.
Zulhadri Putra continued, one of the programs of the Riau Islands Bawaslu to increase supervision is to mobilize campus parties to be directly involved in election supervision. Bawaslu seeks to improve oversight through participatory oversight programs. This is a program to improve oversight as well as prevent election violations from occurring.
In a sense, apart from students, lecturers are also expected to play an active role in supervising elections and maintaining peace during democratic parties. Both during the campaign and until after. As academics, they have authority in society so they can socialize peaceful elections without any hostility and SARA issues.
Lecturers can also ensure that the elections take place peacefully by distributing broadcasts containing appeals to residents around their homes, their students, and everyone who contacts their cell phones.
To ensure that the 2024 elections will run safely and peacefully, the KPU is collaborating with Bawaslu, students and lecturers. They are determined to maintain peace before and after the election, both in cyberspace and in the real world. If there is cooperation from various parties, the election will run smoothly without any significant obstacles.
)* The author is a contributor to the Siber Nusa Institute
