Prevent Potential Conflicts in the 2024 Election in Papua New Guinea, Bawaslu Embraces Local Traditional Leaders
General Election (Election) is a national event that is prone to social friction, so conflict prevention needs to be done. The potential for conflict during the 2024 elections can occur anywhere, and the New Autonomous Region (DOB) of Papua is no exception. In an effort to prevent conflict in the new autonomous regions, the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) invites local traditional leaders to maintain security and social stability ahead of the 2024 elections.
Bawaslu member Lolly Suhenty said that conflict prevention is prioritized in new autonomous regions which are prone to armed groups. Lolly said that prominent figures in the Papua region are still very much heard by the community. Therefore, Bawaslu chose to enter through local wisdom in this way.
Apart from that, Bawaslu internally also carried out a number of things in preparation for election supervision in the new autonomous regions. One of them is increasing the capacity of the electoral ranks. He also ensured that infrastructure matters would not become a technical obstacle in preparation for the 2024 elections.
Currently, the concentration of Bawaslu is to ensure that the capacity and quality of work of its staff is capable of accelerating. Bawaslu itself also highlights the issue of logistics distribution. Bawaslu also focuses on cooperation and collaboration with the TNI-Polri.
It is hoped that the inter-agency collaboration will facilitate Bawaslu technically in carrying out supervision, this is done because the terrain in Papua can sometimes only be accessed by air, so that Bawaslu needs assistance from TNI-Polri officials in terms of transportation to supervise the election process.
The role of traditional leaders is also important to prevent conflicts in the implementation of elections. Traditional leaders are people who carry out and who have strong ties and influence in society. Their binding strength depends on the community or parts of society that support these customs.
Traditional leaders are the spearhead in providing education about political education. Strengthening political education is of course a powerful weapon to reduce political friction that arises due to different choices or black campaigns.
To create a safe and peaceful election, the role of all elements of society is needed to firmly reject violations against elections. The whole community also needs to understand that elections are a people’s party so it should be maintained so that Indonesia, especially Papua, remains safe and conducive.
In terms of supervision, traditional leaders are also expected to have a role in participating in supervising elections and not hesitate to report to Bawaslu if election violations are found, such as money politics.
Elections, especially in new autonomous regions, should be an arena to capture aspirations and ideas for development and people’s welfare. So that it does not use dirty methods that have an impact on things that are detrimental to society.
The Head of the D3N Tribe (Dani, Damal, Dauwa and Nabire) as well as the Chief of the Nusantara Tribe, Ayub Wonda has asked all parties to succeed in the 2024 Election stages. Ayub also asked the people in the Central Papua Province region not to be provoked by issues that hinder smooth development in this new Province.
Meanwhile, regarding the selection process for KPU, MRP and Central Papua DPR commissioners, Ayub said that the process could run well, be transparent and independent, so that no problems would occur. Regarding the release of candidacy, his party also appreciated the steps taken by the Papua Police in making SKCK online. Having an online system will make liberation easier.
It should also be noted, after the establishment of the new autonomous regions in Papua, acceptance selection such as the KPU, Bawaslu, MRP and others have begun to be carried out. The hope is that this process can also run well and safely without any interference from any party.
If you look in the mirror from the previous elections, the polarity between the two camps is felt, especially on social media. Hoax narratives to black campaigns are very easy to find in various comment columns and on social media homepages.
The people in the Papua New Guinea need to realize that the purpose of the General Election is good, namely to find new leaders and members of the legislature, so that Indonesia will be more advanced. Therefore they will also keep the peace. Especially when there is a direct example from the traditional leader.
A peaceful atmosphere is of course the key to a successful election, therefore when there are traditional leaders who support it, this needs to be appreciated. This shows that traditional leaders are very nationalist and support government programs, including elections. They are aware that elections are very important because they determine the future of the Indonesian nation.
Potential conflicts must be prevented in order to maintain the spirit of democracy, traditional leaders need to provide an understanding that different choices in elections are normal, so there is no need for hatred towards each other just because of different choices.
