JAKARTA, KOMPAS — General elections in Indonesia have been held 11 times, four of which were held in the Reform Era. The media plays a strong and important role in realizing general elections are peaceful, transparent, fair and encourage the strengthening of a democratic system.
As the fourth pillar of democracy, the presence of the media is needed to provide the public with information related to various issues. The media also takes part in escorting Indonesia on its path to becoming more democratic and transparent.
"Without transparency, justice and freedom we cannot realize the expectations we have for our country. Democracy can only happen with accurate information from an independent media," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the inauguration of the Kompas General Election House in Kompas Tower, Jakarta, Thursday (2/8/2018).
Also present at the launch were Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Agus Rahardjo, General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman, as well as a number of Indonesian presidents’ sons and daughters, such as Puan Maharani, Alissa Wahid, Siti Hediati Hariyadi or Titiek Soeharto and Ilham Akbar Habibie.
The integrated election house program by Kompas and Kompas.id, Kompas.com, and Kompas TV was launched for the 2019 elections, which for the first time combines the implementation of legislative and presidential elections on the same day.
The integrated General Election House Program by Kompas daily and Kompas.id, Kompas.com, and Kompas TV was launched for the 2019 General Elections, which will for the first time combine
the implementation of the legislative and presidential elections on the same day.
Even though the voting will be held on April 17, 2019, the election stage, which will be followed by 20 political parties, has been going on for some time. Registration for legislative candidates closed on July 17. Registration of candidates for president and vice president will open on Saturday and will close on Aug. 10.
Participation
In his speech, Kalla said, in the Reform Era, general elections are part of the people\'s lives to determine the fate of the nation and country for the next five years. Therefore, the people need information as complete and accurate as possible from independent media. Even, the media can increase public participation in the general elections.
The level of public participation in the 2014 Legislative Elections was 75.11 percent. While during the presidential elections, the participation rate was only 69.58 percent.
For the 2019 general elections to be followed by 196 million voters with 80 million of whom being young voters, according to KPU Chairman Arief Budiman, the voter turnout target will be 77.5 percent. To achieve this target, the KPU, among others, sets up smart general election houses in provincial and regency/city offices of KPU to facilitate the public to be informed and more interested in the general election issues.
"From the previous general elections, the target has not been reached. However, we can start now to push forward the trend to encourage the level of participation," he said.
On the other hand, the initial stage of the 2019 general elections is currently being overshadowed by a number of challenges, such as a petition for judicial review of Law No. 7 of 2017 to the Constitutional Court.
Nevertheless, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo believed that the 2019 general election will be safe and run smoothly. "I\'m sure nobody will be bothered. KPU as the organizer has issued various regulations in great details," he said.
To encourage the integrity and transparency of the political system in the future, KPK Chairman Agus Rahardjo emphasized that the electoral system needs to be evaluated so as not to be high-cost. Because high-cost politics, like today, tends to encourage transactional practices, leading to corrupt practices.
Former rector of the Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Komaruddin Hidayat underlined the importance of the role of all parties, ranging from the government, election organizers, politicians, the mass media, to the public, to realize peaceful and harmonious elections. Different political choices should not lead to divisions.
"Like a football match, in order to succeed is influenced by many parties, not just football players and organizers, but also the spectators. So let\'s all take care, otherwise we all will lose," he said. (INA/AGE)