“Women’s right to vote is a fundamental right. Women must have the same rights as men in politics and democracy.” (Sukarno, Indonesia Determines Its Fate – Minutes of the Second Indonesian Youth Congress -1928).
The Variaty Democracy 2024 report (based on 2023 data) places Indonesia in the Electoral Democracy category even though it is in the lowest group with Malaysia. “However, the implementation of the 2024 Election which is full of controversy and fraud seems to have thrown Indonesia into the category of Democracy with an Authoritarian Characteristic,” said Eva K Sundari as Chair of the Sarinah Institute.
The V-Dem_Democracy-Report_2024 also concluded that democracy in Indonesia had experienced a setback. Several indicators are presented as reasons, for example the narrowing of freedom of expression, freedom of association and political participation. The V-Democracy report actually complements the same conclusion by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) 2023 which called Indonesia a flawed democracy. Previously, the House of Freedom (2021) called Indonesian democracy partly free.
Eva continued that V-Dem reminded that corruption, nepotism and weak law enforcement were serious problems of Indonesian democracy. The film Dirty Vote in 2024 or the film Sexy Killer as well as the results of investigative journalism related to mining licensing policies provide data on allegations of state’s captured corruption (corruption by the state) in the mining sector.
There is still hope that Indonesian democracy will improve according to V-Dem_Democracy-Report_2024, namely if there is a high level of voter participation and a relatively large level of public trust in democratic institutions. In fact, the implementation of the 2024 elections will shatter these hopes.
Netizen reports regarding election fraud practices are indeed worse than the film Dirty Vote. Fraud, intimidation, politicization of social assistance and money politics are carried out on a massive scale, both by the bureaucracy, security forces and coalition political parties as well as by civil society, including organizers, election supervisors and voters.
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The 2024 election has indeed been able to mobilize around 80% of voters, but if it is driven by political money and pork barrels, it means fraud. Kompas Research and Development found that 51 million voters received social assistance from the Advanced Indonesia Coalition team and the authorities. It is no wonder that 62% of the population agrees that there is a right to inquire into 2024 election fraud in the DPR to question the victory in the one-round presidential election.
From the perspective of Pancasila Feminism, election fraud began when the KPU issued PKPU No. 10/2023 which limited women’s participation in voting. This PKPU removed the principle of fairness from the 2024 Election. Moreover, the KPU then ignored the recommendations of the Supreme Court and Bawaslu to improve PKPU number 10.
Women’s campaigns (especially non-coalition ones) are increasingly narrow when faced with money politics and pork barrels. Accountable political work was erased, especially when they faced fraud when counting the votes. Female legislative candidates are powerless to face the practice of vote shifting or inflation by party witnesses, PPS, and PPK, as well as from the KPU’s siRekap system.
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“Female legislative candidates face more obstacles starting from pre-registration (discrimination within the party and PKPU), during voting (pork barrel politics and discrimination in society), to post-voting in the form of vote recapitulation fraud. For women, the 2024 election is unfair because of the tyranny of money and behavior. autocracy from power,” he explained.
The practice of money politics has a significant impact on female politicians because it narrows their political space. Money politics makes it more difficult for women to enter the world of politics and get the same opportunities as men.
Money politics also reinforces the stereotype that women do not bring political alternatives and are permissive towards bribery and therefore incompetent to be elected. Women (in the winning coalition) are also considered to be drivers of corruption because the elected candidates will also try to recover their capital.
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Money politics or the tyranny of money clearly undermines the principles of democracy because it replaces the contestation of ideas/people with money. Money politics also distorts the democratic process by giving advantages to candidates who have more money.
The fact of the politicization of social assistance and the tyranny of money clearly means that the 2024 election cannot be called honest and fair (jurdil) as a whole because the victims are men and women with integrity. Politicians who win feel there is no need to build ties with voters because the ties are transactional: buying votes. Politicians actually feel more indebted to their financiers, namely those who support the coalition.
Thus, said Eva, the 2024 election has pushed Indonesia towards democratic practices with an authoritarian style by combining elements of democracy and autocracy. General elections did take place but with strong control from the government (ruler).
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An authoritarian-style democracy is also characterized by restrictions on freedom of expression and association. Intimidation by security forces and bureaucracy is experienced by critical professors as well as by activists, human rights, the environment and BEM.
Weak law enforcement is also an indicator of an authoritarian-style democracy. Bawaslu just left the President and coalition ministers to campaign without leave. The mobilization of state officials and the politicization of social assistance shows that abuse of power, aka arbitrariness, also takes place without Bawaslu protesting.
Accountability of government and state institutions and bureaucracy will fuel corruption. Abuse of power has also been followed by officials at lower levels. Like cancer if left unchecked, this disease will bring death to this nation.
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Closed proportional system
According to Eva, the return of authoritarianism was triggered because the president violated two MPR Decrees. First, MPR Decree Number IX/MPR/1998 concerning Obligations and Responsibilities of Members of the MPR, DPR, DPD and DPRD. One of the points stated in this tap is the prohibition once morest the practice of KKN (Corruption, Collusion, Nepotism) in carrying out their duties and functions as representatives of the people.
Second, MPR Decree Number VI/MPR/2000 concerning the Basic Provisions of the MPR’s Struggle in Realizing the Ideals of the Proclamation of 17 August 1945. In this decree, the MPR emphasized the importance of upholding moral and ethical values in national and state life, and emphasized its commitment to realizing Indonesia as a sovereign, just and prosperous country based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.
“The president’s authoritarianism can grow and grow because there is collusion between the government and the DPR. Violation of the two MPR Decrees above to pass the revision of the ASN Law containing a red carpet for the dual-function practice of the TNI and Polri. This law might also be part of pre-election fraud and pork barrels for winning the presidential election ,” he explained.
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Democracy with an authoritarian pattern must be restored because it betrays reform. The KPU must be as accountable as the KPU in the 2004 elections. President Megawati is key because she complied with her promise four times before the KPU that she would not be intimate even though Megawati was running for president in the 2004 elections.
There must be a Law on the Presidential Institution to ensure that the President does not violate the two MPR Decrees above as per President Megawati’s example. Meanwhile, legislative elections must return to a closed proportional system.
Eva explained that the tyranny of money kills the principles of justice because it marginalizes minorities and erodes integrity and must be removed. The wisdom of deliberation will only be achieved if the parliament is filled with and attended by politicians across gender lines: rich-poor, women-men, majority-minority, young-old, Java-outer-Java, rural-urban, pro-capital-pro-earth, and so on.
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The tyranny of money must be eliminated because it also contains democratic fraud because it provides a way for plutocrats/oligarchs to control the political system and government of the country. Oligarchic rulers will hinder economic democracy because it will give birth to political colonialism in the form of a government that is pro-capital and anti-people.
Open system (liberal) elections have proven to be exclusive because they are corrupt for a nation that has a corruption perception index (IPK) of 34. The 2024 elections have been corrupted, both by the government and the state, legislative candidates, organizers, supervisors, and even by voters. Such behavior did not occur during the 2004 elections with a closed system.
The proportional electoral system is more inclusive. However, an electoral democracy system is more accountable. Elections become fair so that substantive democracy can be realized, namely the principle of one for all and all for all of the 5th principle of Pancasila can be realized.
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“A closed proportional electoral system will increase political party accountability because it restores the main function of political parties to accelerate people’s aspirations. Most importantly, a closed electoral system can reduce corruption and political fragmentation so that government becomes more stable,” he stressed.
In many pro-people (socialist) countries choose a closed or proportional electoral system. In Scandinavian countries, Western Europe, Latin America and parts of Africa, they have succeeded in achieving high representation of women in parliament and government.
In these countries, the practice of affirmation is guaranteed by law or the internal policies of their respective parties. A popular policy is the zipper system on the legislative candidate list or through the reserved seat policy following calculating party seats.
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Some examples of socialist countries that have succeeded in increasing women’s participation in politics include Finland (47.7%), Sweden (47.3%), Spain (43.6%), Belgium (42.8%), Denmark (42.3% ), Germany (41.4%), Austria (40.8%), Portugal (40.6%), and New Zealand (48.8%).
At least 11 countries in Latin America have overtaken Europe with the highest success being Cuba reaching 50%. In Africa there are 10 countries with the highest achievement, namely 61% in Rwanda. In ASEAN, there is no one where women’s representation reaches more than 40%. The highest achievement was Timor Leste at 38% and Laos 30%.
Democracy with an authoritarian pattern must end. Accountability for the 2024 Election must be challenged through the DPR RI’s Right to Inquiry. In this way, he added, the electoral system can be improved and democratic consolidation can be resumed. (RO/Z-2)
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