KPU Claims 68 Percent Of The Participation Rate For Election Voters In 2024 Is Extraordinary

The DPR Commission II Meeting with the KPU, Bawaslu, DKPP and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Wednesday, December 4. (Nailin-VOI)

Chairman of the Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU), Afifuddin claims that voter participation in the 2024 Simultaneous Regional Elections with an average of 68 percent in every region in Indonesia is extraordinary.

Afif admitted that many factors resulted in lower voter participation in the 2024 Pilkada than the last election. One of them is the close time gap between the Pilkada and the presidential election and the legislative election.

"We certainly don't try to be defensive, but there must be internal external things. But from the side that we can convey first, of course, we have to evaluate thoroughly whether internally our policies or at other levels of situation, for example at our level, we also have to think about accelerating what we can do to our voters," Afif said during a meeting with Commission II of the DPR, DKPP, Bawaslu and the Ministry of Home Affairs at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday, December 4.

"When elections and regional elections were held in the same year, they were adjacent to different nuances and excitement. There are definitely many candidates who are different in number from the legislative and presidential elections whose attention is more focused on one point with the regional elections simultaneously like now," he continued.

At the past, continued Afif, usually only one to two points between provinces and districts that were technically organizing could also contribute.

"Others of course we also ask for support from all parties whether the election participants, support teams, and also the government then become our joint homework to carry out more massive socialization so that our elections are also of better participation," he said.

However, according to Afif, an average of 68 percent of voters' participation in the 2024 Pilkada is quite extraordinary. The KPU, he said, also received input and joint evaluations so that voter participation increased in the next election.

"In our notes, 68 percent throughout Indonesia. So the national average is around 68 percent. In our glasses, it is also extraordinary in the midst of stages like this. Of course we are very grateful for all the participation of the parties, the voters who have exercised their voting rights," he said.

"Of course we from the KPU received all notes, evaluation and input for future improvements," Afif concluded.