Activist Ratna Sarumpaet launched a ‘movement against elections’. His invitation must be watched carefully because it could potentially thwart elections and increase abstentions (white groups) in Indonesia.
The 2024 election will soon start and people are getting ready to vote, because the event will be held at the beginning of the year. The Indonesian people welcome the election with joy because they will have a new president. After the reform, democracy was truly upheld and the elections succeeded in electing a president who was loved by the people, without any coercion like in the pre-reformation period.
However, ahead of the election there was a movement against the election which was declared by Ratna Sarumpaet. According to him, the 2024 election must be rejected because none of the 3 presidential candidates have made any changes for Indonesia. But Ratna will support it if there are politicians who support returning to the 1945 Constitution.
Ratna Sarumpaet’s loud statement caused an uproar in the community because so far they have followed government programs in an orderly manner, including the General Election. How can such an important program like general elections be rejected. It’s strange when the campaign period hasn’t started but he is carrying out a movement against the election, and his mode is very suspicious.
Therefore, the public should be wary of the anti-election movement and are advised not to fall for the propaganda made by Ratna Sarumpaet. Just spreading news about this movement is wrong, because it’s the same as inviting other people to join in rejecting the election.
The movement against the election has clearly violated the law and Ratna Sarumpaet must be punished so that she realizes her mistake. He was hit by Election Law number 7, Article 477 of 2017 and could be subject to a sentence of 1 year in prison and a maximum fine of 12 million rupiah.
It was really strange when Ratna Sarumpaet, who is not a politician or a legislative candidate, made a movement against elections. As an activist, he is known to have always been in the opposition, since the New Order era until now. However, he turned a blind eye to better governance in the post-reform era.
Society must be wary of the movement against elections because it has many negative impacts. First, from a financial point of view, the rejection and postponement of the election schedule will make the funds that have been spent go to waste. When the election is canceled, hundreds of millions of ballot papers will be wasted because this program is not held. When this bad thing happens, who will bear the loss?
Second, refusing the election would throw his schedule into disarray. The government and KPU have made an election schedule starting from the campaign period, the election period, the quiet period, to the announcement of the president. However, when there is a boycott and rejection of the election, it is feared that it will damage the schedule, and again have an effect on finances. The reason is because the shift in schedule will make the budget for holding the General Election swell.
While the third, when there are no elections it will threaten the establishment of democracy in Indonesia. Elections are one of the programs to safeguard democracy, because they enable the people to govern the country through their representatives (legislative members). With elections, people can elect their own president and vice president, and Indonesia will become a truly democratic country.
However, if there are no elections, how can Indonesia have a new president. President Jokowi has chaired for 2 terms and he complies with the law, where a president can only be re-elected a maximum of 1 time. The election of a new president must be carried out to regenerate leadership and uphold democracy.
Ratna Sarumpaet should have realized that the election is not just choosing a presidential candidate. Elections are an event for selecting parties and candidates, and the candidates will become members of the DPR (if elected). When there are no elections, automatically there will be no DPR and MPR members.
When he asked the government to return to the 1945 Constitution, this could not be done because there were no members of the MPR, because there was no election (Pemilu). He didn’t think that far ahead, and made a movement to reject the election with contrived reasons. Moreover, the 1945 Constitution is perfect and does not need to be replaced again.
Meanwhile, the public is required to have good internet literacy and not join in the movement against elections, which was popularized on social media. Do not carelessly choose a movement because it could endanger the future of Indonesia. If there are no elections and no president, how can this country develop?
The public was also asked to boycott the movement against the election because it is contrary to democracy. They are advised not to spread news about this movement, so as not to spread it further and confuse ordinary people.
All Indonesian people are asked to be wary of the movement against the General Election echoed by Ratna Sarumpaet. Do not join in spreading it because this provocation is dangerous and can damage democracy in Indonesia. This movement should be stopped so that there is no chaos in society.
