We have taken a step forward. The General Elections Commission (KPU) is now requiring political parties participating in the general election to enter their data in an online system.
Sipol is the system’s name. The acronym stands for Sistem Informasi Partai Politik (Political Party Information System). In the 2014 elections, the system was already active but political parties were not required to use it. Now, progress has been made as parties are forced to use it.
Political parties that do not input their data into Sipol will not be eligible to participate in the 2019 election. This is stipulated in KPU Regulation No. 11/2017, Article 13 Point (5).
The data that political parties are required to enter into the system include their organizational structures at national, provincial, regency/city and district levels, membership data at regency/city level and supporter data.
However, as usual, change always attracts support and criticism. Some appreciated the new system while others have objected to its implementation.
A common criticism is that Sipol is not readily accessible in a number of regions. The system has also failed to identify identity numbers (NIK) in a number of regions. Data on several recently-established sub-districts is also not yet included in the system.
The short time for data entry, only 14 days, is deemed to be a burden for political parties. Furthermore, the KPU does not yet have a 24-hour service to provide explanations. There are worries that this will obstruct political parties from participating in the election.
People have also criticized the system for not being accessible to the public, therefore undermining public monitoring in data verification. The Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) is also unable to access the system.
The system’s touted benefits include helping political parties manage their administrative systems and integrating their respective database.
For the KPU, as the election organizer, the digital database system will ease administration and factual verification processes, which must be completed within 30 days of the registration deadline. It will be easier for the KPU to detect membership data duplications, both within a single party or between parties. The system will also help the KPU detect party members who are also active military or police personnel or civil servants. As a result, political parties will be healthier as there will be no parties that exist in name or on paper only.
Despite the imperfections, we need to support this move while calling for its improvements, as expected by the Bawaslu. As the saying goes, “All changes, no matter how good, will attract discomfort. It is these discomforts that must be transformed into comfort.”