President Jokowi Calls Out All Parties to Support 2024 General Elections
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo emphasized all ranks of the General Election Commission (KPU) to strengthen readiness for the 2024 general election.
The President said that the KPU must be ready to carry out the 2024 election which is considered more complex so that it runs honest and fair.
“The 2024 election is only 45 days away. The time is very tight. Everything must be ready. Indeed, the 2024 election is very complex. This is a simultaneous election of presidential, the members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional House of Representatives (DPD) in all provinces, regencies and cities,” said the President at the 2023 National Consolidation Meeting for the Preparation of 2024 Election, at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Saturday (12/30).
The President said that the complexity of the 2024 election can be seen from the number of participants consisting of more than 204 million voters spread across 38 provinces. Apart from that, the democratic fiesta also involved 18 national political parties and 6 local Acehnese parties.
“You can’t imagine how complex our elections are. It is very complex,” he added.
Therefore, the President appealed to all ranks of the KPU to carry out the elections as well as possible. He said that everything must be ensured properly so that no mistakes occur.
“We have to ensure that the governance is good, the readiness of officers must also be good, the availability of logistics must also be good, the distribution of logistics must also be good, and the readiness of the systems and technology must also be good. Don’t make any mistakes, everything has to be good, including the technical aspects,” stressed the President.
“We have to pay attention to details because technical negligence can have political implications. It can spread everywhere and can disrupt the conducive situation of the country as well as disrupt the legitimacy of our elections,” he continued.
In the midst of the digital era, President Jokowi also appealed to the use of information systems and election support devices to function properly. This is considered important so that the election can be avoided from hacking.
“Even the slightest inaccuracy can immediately (impacts) public trust. This thing should not happen. All of us have to avoid this together,” he said.
On the occasion, the President also invited all parties to work together to safeguard and support the implementation of the 2024 elections so that they can run well. Furthermore, the President emphasized that apart from supporting the implementation of elections, the ranks of state apparatus (ASN), personnel of the Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) and the National Police (Polri) must maintain their neutrality.
“State officials must support the elections. For example, assistance (in) sending logistics to difficult places and outer areas that cannot be done by the KPU should be assisted by state officials, both the TNI and Polri,” said the President.
Regarding every citizen’s right to vote, President Jokowi asked the KPU to pay attention to this issue and to serve voters without discrimination. The President also asked the KPU to educate voters so that they are smart in making choices.
“Don’t believe in hoaxes, especially those that can spark conflict and disunity. Political education must be carried out on a massive scale, not only educating about the stages of elections but also inviting people to become smart voters,” he remarked. (BPMI) (EST/LW)