Jakarta – The simultaneous Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) have been completed in various regions of Indonesia. People from Sabang to Merauke showed high enthusiasm in exercising their right to vote. However, the struggle for democracy is not yet completely over. Currently, the vote counting process is underway and requires attention and supervision from all elements of society to ensure transparency and integrity of the Pilkada results.
Chairman of the Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU), Mochammad Afifuddin, emphasized the importance of the vote recapitulation stage as a crucial process in the Pilkada. “The vote counting must be carried out openly and can be monitored by the public and related parties to ensure there is no cheating,” said Afifuddin.
On the other hand, civil society organizations reminded the importance of active community participation to maintain a healthy democracy. LP3S Director of Law and Human Rights, Hadi R. Purnama, emphasized that community participation is the main key to ensuring that the Pilkada reflects the will of the people. According to him, the community must continue to monitor the vote counting process and ensure that democracy remains on the right track.
Pilkada as a democratic party is a shared responsibility, not only the government, but also all elements of society. All parties need to work together to oversee each stage of the Pilkada until it is finished in order to ensure a credible and healthy democracy in Indonesia. That way, it is hoped that competent regional leaders will be born and able to bring prosperity to people throughout the country.
Quality democracy can only be realized through solid cooperation between the government, society, and related institutions. The success of this Pilkada shows that Indonesia has great potential to continue strengthening the foundation of its democracy in the future. [*]
