Currently there are 4 new autonomous regions (DOBs) in Papua, namely the provinces of Central Papua, Southwest Papua, South Papua and Highlands Papua. Having 4 new autonomous regions brings many advantages, one of which is facilitating election mitigation. There will be more security forces in the 4 new provinces so that it is certain that the 2024 elections will take place safely in Papua.
Elections will be held in February 2024. One of the preparations for elections is mitigation or prevention of disasters/bad things that have the potential to thwart them, including attacks from terrorist groups. Mitigation is very important and the safety factor is number one, because elections must be successful throughout Indonesia.
To secure the 2024 elections in Papua, apart from deploying security forces, another way is to increase new autonomous regions. Since 2022 there have been 4 new autonomous regions in Papua and the people are very happy because the addition of this province was their request. The existence of 4 new autonomous regions has a major influence on mitigating the 2024 elections in Cendrawasih Earth.
Bawaslu Commissioner (Election Oversight Body) Lolly Suhenty assessed that the addition of the Papua New Autonomous Region facilitates the mitigation process in mapping out disturbance patterns and challenges, both geographical and weather, which can disrupt the course of the election stages. One of the benefits of the expansion of this new area is that the benefits will be very specific. Facilitate Bawaslu actually in the mitigation process.
Lolly continued, his faction is currently concentrating on accelerating supervision preparations in the Papua New Guinea for the 2024 Election. Currently the new autonomous regions already have a line of election supervisors. His party also prepared everything according to the capacity of the RI Bawaslu ranks. This is because the new autonomous regions have their own specifications and characteristics in terms of election preparation, namely infrastructure.
The existence of division in the Papua region, said to help the work of Bawaslu. The expansion of the Papua region has made the Bawaslu’s performance in mitigating conflicts lighter. When there is a new province, it will narrow the Bawaslu’s work area and ease their duties. The potential for conflict has also been reduced because the number of security forces deployed has also been increased in the 4 new autonomous regions of Papua.
Lolly continued, Bawaslu will ensure that there are no technical obstacles related to the holding of elections in the Papua New Guinea. Collaboration to combination with the parent region is something that cannot be overlooked by Bawaslu. In the context of vulnerability in 2024, this new area is one of the focuses of Bawaslu’s attention.
When elections are held in Papua, the mitigation is by preventing Separatist and Terrorist Group (KST) attacks. Currently KST is still around and their existence can be threatening, especially since they have firearms and sharp weapons. KST must be prevented from roaming around, both during the campaign and on the D-day of the 2024 Election.
New autonomous regions are one way to mitigate elections because when there are new provinces, new government offices are built. Apart from that, there is also the Kodam (Military Regional Command) as the TNI headquarters at the provincial level. There is also Polda as a provincial level police station. When there are 4 new autonomous regions, automatically there will be 4 new Polda and Kodam in Papua.
When there are new Kodam and Polda, the personnel will automatically be added. The number of TNI and Polri members serving in Papua is increasing and this is really needed, especially in vulnerable areas.
Meanwhile, Bawaslu Chair Rahmat Bagja stated that one of the strategic issues for the 2024 Election was the implementation of the election stages in 4 new autonomous regions in Papua. Based on the results of the 2024 IKP, Bawaslu noted that election organizers must pay special attention to the readiness of the new area to follow the rhythm of the election stages that are already underway.
According to a survey result, election mitigation in Papua is in the moderate category. However, even though it is only in the moderate category, Bawaslu continues to carry out mitigation in 4 new autonomous regions in Papua, and is working closely with security forces. There should be no riots or attacks in the new provinces of Papua during the campaign period until the 2024 elections are over.
Security in the 4 new autonomous regions has been made easier because there are new Polda and Kodam buildings, complete with security personnel, who are ready to protect the country from various disturbances during the election. KST disruptions must be anticipated and the addition of new autonomous regions will really help mitigate elections.
When the Polda and Kodam buildings have been completed, KST will be afraid. They don’t dare to ‘go down the mountain’ and attack the people. The reason is because the number of security forces in Papua is increasing, thanks to the presence of 4 new autonomous regions. KST did not dare to show themselves for fear of being arrested.
The 2024 Election mitigation process in Papua will be made easier thanks to the existence of 4 new provinces. Bawaslu’s task is also lighter because its working area is narrower. They work safely because they are escorted by TNI and Polri personnel, and are not afraid of KST attacks. The addition of the new autonomous regions has made the elections in Papua smoother and safer.
