The first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2017 sparked unresolved issues. Many citizens were unable to vote.
The many Jakarta residents who had gone to the polling stations but could not vote was actually a defect in local democracy. The incidents were a violation of the people\'s sovereignty. Voting is the basic right of citizens, which should be guaranteed by the state. Ahead of the second round, which is being held today, the defect should be noted so that it will not reoccur.
People are the source of the legitimacy of elected officials. If one is elected in a flawed electoral process because of many people being denied a vote, the legitimacy of the elected officials becomes defective. A regional election that does not include all citizens who are eligible and intend to vote is colored by injustice.
So is democracy. The many citizens who cannot vote make democracy defective. The rotation of power that happens therefore contains errors.
Structural obstacles
The problem is structural, but somehow an event in which many citizens are unable to vote because of technical difficulties made by state managers is like the passing wind. In fact, those responsible for such violations should be held responsible, not like now when they just blame the rules and the people themselves.
Voting is the right of the people. The vote of each citizen is an integral part of the people\'s sovereignty as the source of the power of the state. On the other hand, the state should guarantee the right.
The state is the party that holds the obligation and organizes the implementation of general elections. When one citizen loses his or her voting right and cannot take part in the elections, the organizers can be said to have violated the sovereignty of the people and eliminated the rights of the citizens.
The structural obstacles in elections that lead to the loss of the rights of citizens cannot be simply ignored. If the violation is left without any attention, its impact will be very large. The general elections only become a technical thing.
Upholding the right to vote
Facing the second round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election, the organizers have to maximize their performance, especially by showing seriousness in the enforcement of the right to vote. After updating the voter list, the guarantee for the residents who have not been registered should be ascertained.
Voter data will always be inaccurate. The inaccuracy occurs because demographic development is always ahead of the listing. There are many who are slow to update, aside from mobility, deaths, or entering the age of eligible voters. The inaccuracy leads to the fact there are voters who are not registered on the list. The inaccuracy will increasingly become bigger if in a regional election there is an effort to mobilize voters by competing political powers.
Responding to the last thing, the regional election organizers need to detect the voter mobilization. The regional election organizers have to be watchful of the possibility of voter mobilization. This possibility is open due to the easy way people can get instant electronic ID cards. One television station, in its investigation coverage, revealed that.
All the above situation has to be watched and anticipated by the general election organizers. All citizens who have the right to vote and intend to do so have to be channeled, but on the other hand those who have no right to vote should not be allowed.
What should be remembered is that the general election organizers do not simply do the technical implementation of the elections, but also ensure the realization of the election substances. The right to vote, which constitutes one of the important substances in elections must be guaranteed and that is an important duty of the election organizers.
On the other hand, Bawalu, which in the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election could not make significant steps to respond to the lack of professionalism of the Jakarta General Election Commission in guaranteeing the right to vote, has to improve its performance. Bawaslu needs to show optimal supervision.
Bawaslu\'s supervision should be aimed at improving the quality of regional election implementation. Integrity, independence and self-reliance are things that need to be emphasized by the regional election organizers, aside from the performance that needs to optimized.
The divided sovereignty of the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election should not be repeated. The realization of all votes of the people is the foundation for a strong democracy. Democracy requires that no person is denied a vote. Like flowers in the garden, all of them have to be able to blossom without any hindrance. Besides being supported by political education, the opportunity to vote should not be hindered by technical issues. All obstacles should be anticipated. Thus, the garden will be beautiful and full of flowers with fragrant floral scents.
TOTO SUGIARTO
Executive director of Riset Indonesia, lecturer at the University of Paramadina
