Commission II of the DPR asks the KPU and Bawaslu to examine e-voting for overseas voters

Illustration photo. (ANTARA)

Chairman of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, asked the KPU and Bawaslu RI to immediately review the implementation of the e-voting system, especially for overseas voters. According to him, the system can be a solution to various challenges in holding elections that have been faced by Indonesian citizens abroad.

Rifqinizamy assessed that in addition to the timing of the election which is not always the same, the different voting methods also have the potential to create vulnerability.

"The urgency of e-voting is also, based on our experience in the 2009 Malaysian election, that abroad, if you still use the current pattern, the time is not the same, the voting method is also different, and it is very vulnerable to be misused later," said Rifqinizamy, quoted Tuesday, June 16.

In the DPR RI Commission II Hearing (RDP) with the Chairman of the KPU and the Chairman of Bawaslu on Monday, June 15, Rifqinizamy also said that the implementation of e-voting was worth considering because most of the Indonesian diaspora abroad had access to digital devices, especially gadgets.

The Nasdem Party Faction legislator assessed that not all Indonesian citizens abroad have the freedom to go to the polling station (TPS) that has been determined.

"Overseas, they are aware of having a cellphone on average. Maybe we need to think about e-voting. Because not all of them also have the freedom to go to the TPS that we have determined, whether they are working in the household or working in a company that does not allow them to come on the day of voting," said Rifqinizamy.

Therefore, Rifqinizamy assessed that Indonesian citizens abroad need to receive more attention in the discussion of the revision of the Election Law in the future. According to him, the characteristics and problems faced by Indonesian citizens abroad are different from those in the country, so they need a more appropriate representation approach.

He also gave an example of the system implemented in Italy, where there are seats in Parliament that specifically represent citizens residing abroad. This model is considered to be a study material to strengthen the representation of Indonesian citizens abroad in the national political system.

"In the future, I think we also need to think about overseas dapil. This foreign issue is different from issues elsewhere. So that our citizens who are diaspora abroad get the right representation to voice their issues in the DPR," explained Rifqinizamy.

"In the future, it may become an issue for us together in the revision of the Election Law, while talking about IT, I think this is interesting," he concluded.