Ihsanuddin, Jakarta – Dozens of national figures have declared a new social movement named JAGA Pemilu (SAFEGUARD the Elections), which will monitor the 2024 legislative and presidential elections (Pemilu) so it can take place in a democratic, honest, fair, transparent and participatory manner.
"The JAGA Pemilu movement aims to ensure that all key actors in the elections, namely election organisers, election participants, and also voters, carry out their respective functions with integrity and that there is no misconduct in the election process", said Luky Djani, one of the initiators of JAGA Pemilu on Tuesday November 21.
Djani said that the movement is also inviting the public to actively safeguard the elections so there is no abuse of power for the narrow interest of winning the 2024 elections.
He also said that there are four catastrophes that could undermine political ethics following the Constitutional Court ruling that changed the minimum age limit for presidential and vice presidential candidates.
The four issues are, tendencies towards the political practice of dynasties, tendencies to direct power towards political tyranny by utilising legal institutions, the potential misuse of the bureaucracy and state budget to win the elections, as well as weak accountability and poor implementation of the elections.
"These four catastrophes could impact on the elections not being implemented honestly and fairly. This could end in social conflicts which could seriously threaten the unity and harmony of the Indonesian nation", said Djani.
Djani said that JAGA Pemilu will prepare a platform that will become a vehicle for the public to monitor the elections and submit reports if there is foul play.
"We already have platforms on social media, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok JAGA Pemilu. Citizens can report if they feel there is fraud, we will process it. We will follow reporting standards so it can be followed up by organising bodies, primarily Bawaslu [the Elections Supervisory Board]", he said.
Another initiator of JAGA Pemilu, Erry Riana Hardjapamekas, added that the figures who have joined the movement are people who were selected because they are non-partisan, impartial and independent.
"This group is very worried about the things that have been of concern recently and we have therefore come together and then declared this manifesto. Furthermore, we will carry out monitoring or safeguard the election process from things that are not good, particularly foul play and deviations from prevailing regulations", he said.
The following is a list of the figures that declared the JAGA Pemilu movement:
1. Abigail Limuria – co-initiator of BijakMemilih (Vote Smart) and co-founder of What Is Up, Indonesia
2. Dr. Afrizal Tjoetra – University of North Sumatra (USU) Faculty of Social and Political Science (FISIP) sociologist
3. Dr. Airlangga Pribadi – Airlangga University (Unair) FISIP lecturer, columnist
4. Prof. Dr. Akmal Taher – surgeon, former Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) director
5. Amiruddin Al Rahab – former National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) commissioner
6. Andhyta F. Utami – co-founder of ThinkPolicy and BijakMemilih
7. Andriko Otang – Trade Union Rights Centre (TURC) Executive Director
8. Anton Supit – businessperson
9. Anwar Saragih, MA – USU FISIP lecturer
10. Arianto Sangaji – academic, economic development expert, Central Sulawesi
11. Prof. Dr. Arif Satria – Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) rector
12. Arief Budiman – former General Election Commission (KPU) chairperson
13. Arief T. Surowidjojo – senior lawyer
14. Dr. A. Prasetyantoko – economist, former Atmajaya Indonesian Catholic University (Unika) rector
15. Bakti Nusa Madani – Indonesian Association of Catholic Students (PMKRI) Regional Leadership Board commissioner
16. Bambang Harymurti – former Tempo chief editor
17. Benny Sutrisno – businessperson
18. Bivitri Susanti – constitutional law expert, Centre for Legal and Policy Studies (PSHK) founder
19. Prof. Dr. Budi Setiyono – former University of Diponegoro (Undip) deputy rector
20. Chandra Hamzah – former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Puluhan Tokoh Deklarasikan JAGA Pemilu, Awasi Pemilu 2024 agar Tak Ada Penyimpangan".]