Rumah Pemilu Indonesia Election Portal
Members of Commission II of the Parliament say that they will only select new members of the Election Commission (KPU) that show commitment to implement e-voting technology in Indonesia elections. E-voting technology is considered as a necessity to resolve all the problems regarding voting process in election.
As a response, the Executive Director of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Titi Anggraini, says that e-voting is a wrong medicine for our election illness. E-voting technology, at least fro now, should not replace manual voting method which, according to Titi, is the most transparent and accountable method. The problem of our election is in votes recapitulating process, not in the voting process.
“The success of online ojek (motorbike taxis) should not be the indicator for the success of e-voting technology in elections. Technology for commercial purpose is rather different with electoral purpose. We need to ask: whether the nature of democracy can be accommodated by technology?” says Titi.
Titi argues that policymakers need to conduct pilot tests for e-voting implementation and ask public’s opinion regarding the matter. The fact that there are other countries using e-voting technology does not mean we really need the same technology. E-voting, according to Titi, is an interest of a certain group of people, not an actual need from the election management bodies.
“We need to prioritize needs, not wants. What is good for Mexico does not necessarily good for Indonesia. We need our own problems to resolve. Parliament members and KPU members need to conduct strategic review and discussions on e-voting technology before implement it,” says Titi.
