Participation Of Low 2024 Pilkada Voters, Deputy Minister Of Home Affairs: Crowded Society

Illustration of the 2024 Simultaneous Pilkada (ANTARA)

JAKARTA Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya highlighted the alleged low level of voter participation in the 2024 Pilkada. Although still waiting for official data from the General Elections Commission (KPU), he acknowledged that there were indications of a decrease in participation which was allegedly caused by public saturation with the series of adjacent election processes.

"We are still waiting for official data from the KPU. However, in some areas it appears that there has been a decrease in participation rates. This shows a trend that we need to pay attention to, especially whether the 2024 Pilkada is lower than the presidential election or not," said Bima Arya, Monday, December 2.

According to Bima, one of the reasons for the low enthusiasm of voters is the too close implementation time between legislative elections (Pileg), presidential elections (Pilpres), and regional elections. This factor is suspected to trigger saturation among the public.

"Perhaps the community feels tired of the series of legislative elections, presidential elections, and regional elections that are too close. Another factor could be because the candidates who are considered less representative of the aspirations of the local community, especially if the regional head candidates do not come from the area," he explained.

To overcome this problem, Bima Arya emphasized the need for a thorough evaluation of the electoral system, including the possibility of revising the schedule for the presidential and regional elections so as not to get too close.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs will accommodate various proposals, including separating the Pilkada schedule from the legislative election or even distinguishing the national election schedule and local elections. All of this will be a study material for improving the general election system in the future," he said.

He also added that this phenomenon can be used as an important lesson in designing a more effective electoral system and in accordance with the needs of the community, in order to increase political participation and quality of democracy in Indonesia.