KPU Rules About Empty Boxes

Illustration of the empty box of the 2024 Pilkada (Between)

YOGYAKARTA The issue of empty boxes sticking out ahead of the 2024 regional head election. In this year's Pilkada, the General Election Commission (KPU) suspects that in some areas there are only single candidate pairs, which means that the candidate pair will fight the empty box. Then what are the KPU rules regarding the empty box?

The empty box is a term used in general elections. This term refers to a condition where in one area only has one candidate pair so that the candidate pair does not have an opponent. However, the KPU still has to draw so that this empty box is imported as an option to accommodate people's choice.

In detail, there are no rules regarding the existence of empty boxes as opponents of the single candidate pair in the regional head election. However, the implementation has been regulated in the General Election Commission (KPU) Regulation Number 20 of 2020.

Article 14 explains that ballots as a means of voting in the single candidate pair elections will use ballots consisting of two columns. The first column will contain the existing single candidate photo, while the second column does not have a picture.

Then Article 18 explains the procedures for voting on the ballot. In the article, it is stated that voters vote by voters by voting once in a column containing a photo or candidate name, or voting in an empty column without a picture.

Responding to the empty box in the 2024 General Election, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) political expert Mada Sukmajati considered that the KPU needed to make explicit rules on the empty box campaign. This was done to maintain the hope of justice in this year's election.

Reporting from Antara, Tuesday, September 10, Mada Sukmajati emphasized that many regions only have single candidate pairs.

"I think there needs to be explicit rules regarding the empty box campaign in the General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU)," he explained.

Mada assessed that so far there has been no ban on empty box campaigns, but on the other hand there is no regulation governing if the empty box is campaigned massively by the community. Providing empty box campaign facilities is different by supporting empty boxes, or being considered inviting people to golput.

On the other hand, the rules related to empty boxes are considered to provide the principle of justice for single candidates against empty boxes in the 2024 Pilkada.

"Indeed, this is a dilemma but this needs to be regulated. Imagine that the space and time of the campaign for single candidates has rules and limits, while the campaign for single candidates is released and not specifically regulated," he explained again.

Previously, the Chairman of the Indonesian KPU Mochamad Afifuddin said that there were at least 48 regions against the empty box in the 2024 Pilkada. Unfortunately, he did not specify which areas only have single candidate pairs.

The KPU itself opens the possibility to hold a re-cash next year if the victory is won by an empty box. The KPU rules regarding empty boxes in the form of repetition refer to Article 54 D of Law Number 10 of 2016 concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 1 of 2015 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulations in Lieu of Law Number 1 of 2014 concerning the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors. Visit VOI.id to get other interesting information.