Perludem Urges Voters to Monitor the Integrity of the 2024 Elections

Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi [the Association for Elections and Democracy] (Perludem) urges voters to actively participate in safeguarding the integrity of the election by reporting any fraud and documenting the vote count at the Polling Stations (TPS). Through this, a democratic and transparent election can be achieved, especially during the campaign and silence periods as there have been numerous violations and potential election frauds.

“Voters must still participate and exercise their voting rights to determine the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as candidates for members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representative Council (DPD), and the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD),” Perludem wrote in a press release on February 13.

According to Perludem, ensuring the participation of the entire society is the goal of the election; therefore, election organizers must proactively identify and oversee obstacles that hinder voters from exercising their voting rights in the 2024 Elections. The General Election Commission (KPU) and the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) must ensure that there are no technical or administrative barriers that disrupt voters from exercising their voting rights.

Perludem also highlights the potential increase in disinformation regarding the technical aspects of the election. Drawing from the experiences of the 2019 General Election and the 2020 Regional Head Elections, such misinformation tends to circulate extensively leading up to and on the day of voting. Perludem views technical disinformation about the election as having the potential to disrupt or even eliminate the right to vote.

“As an example, disinformation explaining that the Electronic Identity Card (e-KTP) can be used to access voting rights at all Polling Stations has the potential to deprive voters of their voting rights if they believe it. This certainly should not happen and recur in the 2024 election,” Perludem wrote.

The supervision aspect on the voting day in the 2024 Election is crucial and requires a serious response from election organizers and voters to address several issues and difficulties that may arise until the voting day. In order to facilitate voter participation and a more democratic election, Perludem urges voters to come out and exercise their voting rights on February 14, 2024, and to understand what is allowed and not allowed to be done at the Polling Stations.

“Voters uphold the purity of the vote, reject money politics, and refuse and resist intimidation and mobilization in any form,” Perludem emphasized. []

Translated by Catherine Natalia