Voting with Mega at Kebagusan Voting Station Tomorrow, Puan Reminds the Regional Head Elections to be Fair

JAKARTA - Speaker of the House of Representatives Puan Maharani together with the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia who is also the General Chairperson of the PDIP Party, Megawati Soekarnoputri will vote at the Kebagusan TPS, South Jakarta, Wednesday, November 27.

In the 2024 Simultaneous Regional Elections that will take place tomorrow, Puan reminded that the democratic party must be honest and fair. She also hopes that the Regional Elections that will take place simultaneously in 37 provinces and 508 regencies/cities can run safely and smoothly.

"Regional elections are one form of democracy in Indonesia where the people will determine the candidates for their regional leaders. This is a moment of people's celebration that must be lived with joy and happiness," said Puan Maharani, Tuesday, November 26.

Puan also advised the KPU/Bawaslu to be able to organize the Regional Elections properly. She emphasized that election organizers must ensure that all Regional Election processes that will be held simultaneously in 545 regions run smoothly and safely.

"Security forces must also be able to guarantee stability in every region that holds the Pilkada," said the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives.

Puan also appealed to all parties to uphold political ethics in the Pilkada. She also emphasized the importance of the apparatus maintaining neutrality in the implementation of the simultaneous Pilkada which will be held tomorrow.

"The public has high hopes that the Pilkada will run fairly and justly. We hope that the interested parties will maintain their commitment to ensure that the Pilkada runs smoothly," said Puan.

For information, researchers from Perludem revealed that there were more than 3,000 alleged violations of state apparatus neutrality in the 2024 Pilkada. These findings include various forms of abuse of power and political intervention by certain officers.

Meanwhile, the State Civil Service Commission (KASN) noted that there were 403 reports related to alleged violations of ASN neutrality, of which 183 were proven to have committed violations.

Regarding this, Puan encouraged the public to report if there were any alleged violations related to apparatus neutrality. "Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI)/Indonesian Police (Polri) and State Civil Apparatus (ASN) must firmly follow the rules, neutrality must be maintained. The public can report if they find indications of violations. Record and take photos as evidence. Public participation is needed to ensure this democratic party runs with quality," said Bung Karno's granddaughter.

Puan also encouraged the candidate pairs (paslon) and their supporting parties to ensure that the Pilkada can run according to democratic values.

"The candidate pairs and supporting political parties must be able to maintain their authority by implementing ethical politics," said Puan.

The former Coordinating Minister for PMK understands that each candidate pair and party has a strategy to win the Pilkada. However, Puan reminded that these methods must be carried out elegantly and in accordance with applicable regulations.

"Striving to win is important, but it is much more important to give the people the freedom to choose, because in reality the victory of democracy is the victory of the people who are sovereign over their own choices," she said.

"The people must be free to choose, the people must be fully sovereign in determining their choices. Let's work together to maintain the quality of democracy," continued Puan.