Indonesia will hold general elections on 17 April, but many beginner voters have not decided their choices yet. Departing from the circumstance, lecturers of Faculty of Law of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta conducted a community service program as a means to encourage the beginner voters using their suffrage in the general elections.
Collaborating with village government of Tirtonirmolo, Kasihan, Bantul, Septi Nur Wijayanti, S.H. and Nanik Prasetyoningsih, S.H., M.H., lecturers of Faculty of Law of UMY performed a community service on Saturday (16/3) at village hall of Tirtonirmolo. The community service was followed by 40 participants from 12 hamlets.
Nanik stated, “Tirtonirmolo has been partnering with Faculty of Law of UMY since long time ago. In the 2014 general elections, the level of participation of Tirtonirmolo reached 80 percent. For general elections this year, there are 1494 beginner voters. Hence, edification for the beginners is needed to provide information and knowledge related to the general elections. This, in fact, accommodates the beginner voters so that they will not commit abstentions. Beginner voters are known to possess huge contribution to the participation rate of the general elections.
Moreover, Nanik confessed, “The beginner voters are Indonesian citizens aged 17 years old, starting from January 1st 2018 up to April 17th 2019. Based on a data by Home Ministry of Indonesia, there are 5.035.887 beginner voters. The number surely will give great contribution to the general elections. To succeed the general elections, one of the keys is participation of people. Therefore, the government should take a specific concern related to the participation rate of the beginner voters.”
Nanik and her partner Septi performed the community service in four stages, namely preparation, implementation, accompaniment, and evaluation. The program was conducted from January to March. Nanik added, “We hope that the community service will increase the number of beginner voters. People should determine a choice that corresponds to their consciences. This thought should be embedded in early stage of people’s life so that they will consciously participate in the general elections.”
Furthermore, Head of Legal Division of Bantul General Elections Commission (KPU Bantul), Mestri Widodo, S.IP., MM. informed, “Voters should be objective to determine their choices. They should find out track records of the candidates. People should also be punctilious and should not abstain in the general elections.”
Widodo continued, “In the general elections, we will provide five ballots. Subsequently, we target 82 percent of participation of people for general elections this year. This rate is higher than the 2014 general elections. This target is even higher than national target, which only strikes 77 percent.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of the Bantul Elections Supervisory Board (BAWASLU Bantul) Dhenok Panuntun Tri Suci Asmawati, S.H., M.H. explained that general elections are an initial selection for corruptors. “There is a relation between corruption and state officials. The general elections are a process to determine a suitable candidate occupying certain political positions to represent people to do country’s administration. Consequently, voters should be careful and cautious to determine the candidates. Voters also need to be sure about candidates’ personalities and backgrounds.”
