OTT Nurdin Abdullah: Danger To Pilkada

JAKARTA - The arrest of South Sulawesi Governor Nurdin Abdullah in a hand-arrest operation (OTT) by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was responded to by political communication observer Emrus Sihombing. He considered the rise of regional heads who were arrested by the KPK as a momentum for introspection with the Indonesian political system. The danger is up to the elections.

In other words, something must be corrected and studied in the democratic system, especially in the regional elections. "I hypothesize, there is something wrong with the political system of the elections," Emrus said when contacted by VOI, Saturday, February 27.

The Executive Director of Emrus Corner explained things that may need to be improved from the process of implementing the elections, namely the recruitment system for regional head candidates who will be carried out by political parties and the political backstage related to the regional elections.

"If it is broken down, first from the recruitment aspect, will it be nominated by a party or independent? This candidate must really have a good recruitment, especially integrity that is strong and does not waver with anything. Then then capability and professionalism. The main thing is integrity. , "explained Emrus.

According to the lecturer at Pelita Harapan University, professionalism can be formed starting from 1-2 years of tenure. However, integrity, he said, is a character. "So something that in my opinion needs to be thoroughly evaluated, whether recruited or proposed by the party or independent, is its integrity," Emrus said.

Then, regarding the political backstage, Emrus assessed that factors that are not known to the public should not be abused by the political elite itself. For example, there is a 'lubricant' for passing regional head candidates.

"Isn't there a lot of discourse in the public room about buying boats, for example. Isn't there something called money politics and there is even something called the dawn attack, meaning the money politics discourse still exists. That's why we have something to improve on. Two things, recruitment and political backstage, "he said.

So, continued Emrus, there needs to be improvements and in-depth studies related to the democratic system. For example, a former regional head whose term of office has expired is only questionable and what is needed during the campaign for the purpose of observation is not a legal process. This is to improve an effective and efficient model of regional election democracy.

"I think it is very urgent to carry out a comprehensive study and evaluation of the political system of the elections to produce a solution, so that the implementation of regional election democracy will be better in the future, in the next 2024," Emrus concluded.