Observer Reminds KPU Members: Done With Personal Affairs So It Can't Be Purchased Automatically, So No Vote Manipulation

JAKARTA - Executive Director of Voxpol Center Research and Consulting Pangi Syarwi Chaniago assesses that integrity is an important thing that must be possessed by the elected General Election Commission (KPU) commissioner from 2022 to 2027.

Pangi reminded the elected commissioners not to repeat the cases experienced by KPU officials in the past. As a public official who has been sworn in, integrity is an important factor whether KPU members can be bought or not.

"When they are done with their personal affairs, they automatically cannot be bought. So, automatically there is no potential for data manipulation and ballot manipulation. The key is the ability to restrain themselves," he said.

Pangi also gave advice to the seven KPU members who were inaugurated on Tuesday, April 12, so that in the future they will be able to overcome all forms of fraud in the conduct of elections.

In addition, they must also be able to learn quickly to see past weaknesses so as not to fall into the same hole.

"The third suggestion is digitalization, do we like manuals or start learning with countries that have implemented e-voting?" he said, launching Antara.

He said that information technology is the heart of the KPU. The success or failure of the KPU in the future, whether or not it was burglarized, depends on the capabilities in the IT sector.

"Even if you still want a manual, the technology should not be manual either. It must be more sophisticated to anticipate the potential for buying and selling voices, inflating voices, and stealth sounds. The team must really have classy flight hours," he said.

On the other hand, Pangi considered the new KPU members to be the best people as a result of a rigorous selection from administration to fit and proper test.

Therefore, the public really hopes that there will be many improvements that must be made by the KPU management for the 2022-2027 term in the future.

"We are waiting for how this newly appointed KPU member will hold the election later, both in terms of capability and problem mitigation, especially classic problems so they don't happen again," he said.