Commission II Of The House Of Representatives Supports E-Voting For The 2029 Election: Can Cut Election Costs

Illustration of election elections. (Freepik-Rizky Aldiansyah)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Eka Widodo, supports the discourse on the use of e-voting for presidential, legislative and regional elections in the upcoming 2029 elections submitted by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya, in a working meeting with the DPR-RI, Monday, May 5.

Edo said e-voting could increase efficiency in the electoral process by reducing the vote count time. As well as increasing transparency by providing real-time access to voters and supervisors.

According to Edo, e-voting is a more secure, effective and adaptive general election mechanism in the era of the development of information technology and digital communication today.

Edo said, e-voting is part of the success of the Making Indonesia 4.0 program which is oriented towards digital infrastructure development and digital literacy launched through Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 17 of 2018. In order to face the industrial revolution 4.0, various sectors of government, including the implementation of elections, must be adaptive to digital-based.

"This will erode the confusion and practice of vote manipulation which is a problem of election from time to time," said Edo, Thursday, May 8.

The PKB legislator from the Central Java IX electoral district stated that e-voting can also reduce election costs that are usually spent on logistics and manual vote counting. So far, said Edo, elections in Indonesia are very wasteful and leaks are found. The total 2024 election budget is IDR 71.3 trillion plus PSU funds which are estimated at IDR 1 trillion.

"This budget rose 57.3 percent compared to the 2019 simultaneous elections of IDR 45.3 trillion. Previously, I asked the BPK for a total audit but had not received the results," he explained.

With the e-voting system, continued Edo, it is hoped that voter participation can increase, especially among the younger generation who are more familiar with digital technology.

"We can learn from countries that have successfully held elections by e-voting for the United States, Australia, India, Brazil and Estonia, which are known as one of the most advanced countries in the use of digital technology in government, including e-voting," he explained.

According to the Pemalang police, e-voting in the 2029 election should not be negotiated. The upcoming elections will be held by the new KPU membership. The DPR will ensure the escort of recruitment with professional standards in the field of information technology.

"We will escort the organizers of the upcoming elections to be figures who control several important aspects such as system security, voter privacy, and accessibility for all voters, including those who are in remote areas or are not familiar with technology," said Edo.