Regional Election Evaluation Forms Government’s Commitment to Maintaining National Political Stability
By: Afifa H. Zaim *)
The implementation of the 2024 Simultaneous Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) is a serious concern for the government. As a step to ensure that the democratic process runs fairly and transparently, the government has stated its commitment to evaluating all stages of the Pilkada. This evaluation aims to improve the quality of the implementation of the next election and to maintain the stability of the national political climate.
Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, said that the government will respect every decision issued by the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the 2024 Pilkada lawsuit. He said that evaluation is a priority, especially if violations are found to be structured, systematic, and massive. Yusril emphasized that the government is paying close attention to this issue and will listen to every argument that appears in the MK trial. This shows the government’s seriousness in ensuring justice in the implementation of the Pilkada.
The 2024 Simultaneous Regional Elections recorded 545 regions participating in the election process. However, there were 314 lawsuits submitted to the Constitutional Court. This condition shows that although the implementation of the Regional Elections went well in general, there are still challenges that must be faced. The government sees evaluation as a strategic step to improve and democratic system while increasing public trust in the election process.
Chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU), Mochammad Afifuddin, said that the implementation of the 2024 Pilkada stages was successful, smooth, and safe. He appreciated the hard work of all KPU ranks at the central, provincial, and district/city levels, including the ad hoc bodies involved. According to Afif, although the level of public participation in the simultaneous Pilkada reached 71% nationally, which is considered better than several other countries, evaluation is still needed as a lesson to improve the quality of election implementation in the future.
Afifuddin explained that the KPU did not only focus on technical implementation, but also on strengthening voter education. The Election Participation Index (IPP) is one of the tools used to capture public participation in the democratic process. With this index, the KPU can identify the successes and challenges in the election socialization and voter education that have been carried out. This is concrete evidence of the KPU’s efforts to continue to increase public participation quantitatively and qualitatively.
KPU member, Yulianto Sudrajat, said that the big challenge in organizing the 2024 Pilkada was the election and Pilkada stages that took place simultaneously. However, according to him, the KPU managed to overcome this challenge well. He considered that this success reflected the KPU’s readiness in facing complex situations while maintaining the credibility of the institution as an election organizer. He also hoped that the experience from the 2024 Pilkada could be a reference in improving the implementation of elections in the future.
The government sees the evaluation of the implementation of the Pilkada as part of the shared responsibility between the election organizing institution and the central government. This evaluation is not only to identify weaknesses, but also to strengthen the democratic system. Political stability is highly dependent on transparency and fairness in the democratic process. Therefore, evaluation is a strategic step to ensure that the simultaneous Pilkada provides real benefits to the community and the nation as a whole.
Furthermore, violations that occur must be handled seriously. The government will work with related institutions, including Bawaslu and KPU, to ensure that every report of violations is followed up fairly and professionally. The government also emphasized the importance of respecting all decisions issued by the Constitutional Court (MK). Thus, public trust in the democratic process can continue to be maintained.
The government and KPU’s efforts in evaluating the implementation of the Pilkada show a great commitment to building a healthy democracy. This evaluation is not only important to improve the technical process, but also to build public trust in democratic institutions. With a fairly high level of participation in the 2024 Pilkada, this evaluation step is expected to be a momentum to strengthen the election system in the future.
A number of strategic steps have been formulated to support this evaluation. First, increasing the capacity of election organizers through training and technical assistance. Second, strengthening the monitoring system to prevent violations during the Pilkada process. Third, utilizing digital technology to facilitate access to information and transparency. These steps are expected to have a positive impact on improving the quality of election implementation.
The implementation of the 2024 Simultaneous Regional Elections is indeed a challenge for the government and related institutions. However, through a comprehensive evaluation, this challenge can be turned into an opportunity to strengthen democracy. The commitment shown by the government, KPU, and other institutions is real evidence that democracy in Indonesia continues to develop towards a better direction. This evaluation is also an important step to ensure that public trust in the democratic process is maintained.
Through planned and systematic evaluation, it is expected that the stability of the national political climate can be maintained. This is not only important to ensure the success of the democratic process, but also to support national development as a whole. The government, together with all elements of society, has a responsibility to ensure that the democratic process in Indonesia runs well and provides real benefits for all people.
*)The author is a political and security observer from the Berdaya Research Institute
