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Vol. 03, No. 11, November 2023

                                 e - ISSN : 2807-8691 | p- ISSN : 2807-839X

The Dynamics of General Elections in Indonesia, 1955-2019

Aswino Wardhana

General Election Commission of Sleman Regency, Indonesia Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Keywords

General Election, Democracy, New Order, Reform, Principle.

The holding of general elections is one of the means of achieving

democracy and realizing a system of government that is people-sovereign and has been successfully implemented since Indonesia's

independence until the current reformation period. This study aims

to analyze the dynamics of general elections in Indonesia as part of the success of organizing democratic parties. The data used in this study comes from several pieces of literature relating to implementing the 1955 to 2019 general elections. The research method used is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. With this method, the researcher attempts to describe, analyze, and explain the electoral system used during the legislative and presidential elections. The results of the study explain that Indonesia adheres to a democratic system in general elections. General elections aim to create a government of, by, and for the people. With the existing dynamics, elections in Indonesia have been successfully carried out from 1955 to 2019, both in the presidential and regional elections. The 1999 general election, which was a transition from the New Order government to reform, brought Indonesia towards a democratic political system. In 2004, the people participated directly in elections for the first time. The process of elections in Indonesia is indeed inseparable from the principles of general elections under Law Number 12 of 2003, namely direct, honest, fair, free, secret, and public.


INTRODUCTION

General elections are a mechanism for electing people's representatives in the executive and legislative fields at the central and regional levels. Based on the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia in Article 1, Paragraph 2, and the application of the fourth principle of Pancasila, general elections are a way of implementing a democratic system. General elections in Indonesia were held from 1955 to 2019. There have been many changes in holding general elections in Indonesia. The changes include, among others, legal, institutional, implementation, stages, and implementation for participants.

Political participation and the role of society in providing voting rights for those who already have the right to vote are measures of the success of holding general elections. Low community participation is a bad problem because it indicates that many people need to pay attention to the state (Budiarjo, 2008: 369). In contrast, if higher general election participation suggests that more people are concerned about the condition,

The purpose of holding general elections to elect representatives is to form a government of, by, and for the people. Democracy, representative institutions, and elections are three interrelated concepts (Santoso and Budhiati, 2019:1). To realize the absolute meaning of democracy, community participation is needed.

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Several considerations for holding general election periods include: 1) People's aspirations regarding various aspects of living together in society develop from time to time and are dynamic; 2) living conditions in society may change due to internal and external factors such as domestic and international factors, in addition to people's opinions, which change from time to time; 3) Changes in people's aspirations and opinions can occur due to an increase in the number of adults and people, especially new voters, who do not necessarily have the same attitude as their parents; 4) the holding of general elections regularly aims to guarantee a change in state leadership, both executive and legislative (Asshiddiqie, 2013: 415).

General elections, both executive and legislative, from the central to regional levels are carried out by an independent institution authorized by the government, namely the General Elections Commission (KPU). The General Election Commission plays an important role in publicizing general elections because it affects the success or failure of holding general elections in Indonesia. This is in line with Law No. 7 of 2017 Articles 12, 13, and 14 regarding the duties, powers, and obligations of the Korean General Election Commission (KPU).

General elections: socialization can be used in political education to achieve quality general elections in society based on the principles of direct, general, free, confidential, honest, and fair. The more intensive outreach carried out by the General Election Commission to the public can remove the notion of general elections that have so far been considered less important in exercising the right to vote. The current development of social media has a major influence on disseminating and receiving information, so general election socialization can also be carried out through social media.


METHODS

To explain the dynamics of general elections in Indonesia, which were successfully carried out from the beginning of the country's independence through the reform period, the authors use a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. With this method, the researcher attempts to describe, analyze, and explain the electoral system used during the implementation of the legislative, presidential, and vice-presidential elections in the Indonesian political context. According to Whitney (1960: 160), descriptive research is research that seeks facts with the correct interpretation; it investigates societal problems as well as procedures that apply in society and specific situations, such as those concerning the relationship of activities, attitudes, and views, as well as the effects of a phenomenon.


RESULTS

  1. General Elections for the 1955 Parliamentary Period

    During the parliamentary democracy, Indonesia held its first general election in 1995. During the Burhanuddin Harapan cabinet, voting was held twice, namely on September 29, 1955, to elect members of the DPR, and on December 15, 1955, to elect members of the constituent assembly (Sardiman, 2006: 128). The results of the 1955 elections for the four major parties to elect members of the DPR were: the PNI won 22.32%, Masyumi won 20.92%, the NU won 18.41%, and the PKI won 16.36%. The results of the election to elect constituent members were PNI (23.97%), Masyumi (20.59%), NU (18.47%), and PKI (16.47%).

  2. General Elections during the New Order Period (1971–1997)

    1. The 1971 election was a general election held on July 5, 1971, the Indonesian people held that to elect members of the DPR, which ten political parties joined. The 1971 election system adopted a balanced representation and binding list systems. The election results placed Golkar as the single majority with 62.82% of the vote, followed by NU (18.68%), PNI (6.93%), and Parmusi (5.36%).

    2. The 1977 general elections were held on May 2, 1977, to elect members of the Central DPR, Level 1 Provincial DPRD, and Regency/Municipal Level II DPRD. The 1977 general election system used a proportional system with a list system, with three political parties participating: the PPP, Golkar, and PDI. The results of the 1977 vote acquisition were Golkar (62.11%), PPP (29.29%), and PDI (8.60%).

    3. The 1982 general election was held on May 4, 1982, with a total number of votes of 75,126,306. The results of the 1982 vote acquisition were Golkar (64.34%), PPP (27.78%),

      and PDI (7.88%).

    4. The 1987 general elections were the fourth general elections held on April 23, 1987. In this election, Golkar won 73.16%, PPP (15.97%), and PDI (10.87%).

    5. The 1992 general elections were held on June 9, 1992, and although Golkar still won the highest percentage of votes (68.10%), PPP and PDI received an increase in votes and seats. PPP won (17.01%), followed by PDI (14.89%).

    6. The 1997 general elections, held on May 29, 1997, were the last general elections for the New Order regime. In the 1997 general election, Golkar received 74.51% of the vote, while the PPP received 22.43%. The PDI split in this general election resulted in fewer votes, with only 3.06 percent of the vote cast (http://kpu.go.id/.accessed May 20, 2022).

  3. General Elections during the Reformation Period (1999-2019) General Elections in 1999

The first general elections during the reform period were held in 1999, during the 13-month term of President Habibi. The voting was held on June 7, 1999, and was attended by 48 political parties. General elections are held to gain recognition or trust from the public, including the international community, because the government and other institutions that were products of the New Order general elections were considered distrustful.

A general election in 1999 aimed to replace DPR and MPR members before their terms ended. At the vote-counting stage, 27 political parties refused to sign the minutes of vote-counting on the pretext that the general elections had not been fair (honest and fair). However, Panwaslu recommended that the election be valid. The available election results were known to the public on July 26, 1999.


Table 1. Vote Acquisition and Number of Seats of Political Parties from the 1999 General Election Results

No. Political Parties

Vote

Vote

Percent

Seats

Seats

Percent

1. PDI Perjuangan

35.706.618

33,74%

163

33,12%

2. Partai Golkar

23.742.112

22,43%

120

25,97%

3. Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa

13.336.963

12,60%

51

11,04%

4. Partai Persatuan

Pembangunan

11.336.387

10,71%

58

12,55%

5. Partai Amanat Nasional

7.528.936

7,11%

34

7,36%

6. Partai Bulan Bintang

2.050.039

1,94%

13

2,81%

7. Partai Keadilan

1.436.670

1,36%

7

1,52%

8. Partai Karya Pembangunan

1.065.810

1,01%

4

0,87%

9. Partai Nahdlatul Ummah

679.174

0,64%

5

1,08%

10. Partai Demokrasi Indonesia

655.048

0,62%

5

1,08%

11. Partai Persatuan

590.995

0,56%

1

0,22%

12. Partai Damai Kasih Bangsa

550.856

0,52%

2

0,43%

13. MASYUMI

457.750

0,43%

1

0,22%


14. Partai Daulat Rakyat


426.875

0,40%

1

0,22%

15. PNI


376.928

0,36%

1

0,22%

16. Partai Syarikat

Indonesia

Islam

376.411

0,36%

1

0,22%

17. KRISNA


369.747

0,35%

1

0,22%

18. PNI Front Marhaenis


365.173

0,35%

1

0,22%

19. Partai Binneka Tunggal Ika


364.357

0,34%

1

0,22%

20. PNI Massa Marhaen


345.665

0,33%

1

0,22%

21. IPKI


328.440

0,31%

1

0,22%

TOTAL


102.084.854

96.45%

462

100,00%

Source:http://kpu.go.id/Sejarah/pemilu1999.html.


Table 2. Parties that did not sign the 1999 general election results


Political Parties


1. Partai Keadilan

10. PAY

19. PADI

2. PNU

11. Partai MKGR

20. PRD

3. PBI

12. PIB

21. PPI

4. PDI

13. Partai SUNI

22. PID

5. Masyumi

14. PNBI

23. Murba

6. PNI Supeni

15. PUDI

24. SPSI

7. Krisna

16. PBN

25. PUMI

8. Partai KAMI

17. PKM

26. PSP

9. PKD

18. PND

27. PARI

Source:http://kpu-baubaukota.go.id.


General Elections in 2004

The 2004 general election was the beginning of a post-reform Indonesia democratization milestone because the Indonesian people directly elected the president, vice president, and legislature members. The 2004 general election was held simultaneously on April 5, 2004, throughout Indonesia to elect 550 members of the DPR and 128 members of the DPD, as well as members of the Provincial DPRD and Regency/Municipal DPRD for the 2004–2009 period. The first round of presidential elections took place on July 5, 2004, followed by the second round on September 20, 2004. The results of the first and second rounds of the presidential general elections were won by a landslide by the pair of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla.

Various provisions related to the post-Soeharto electoral system in less than 10 years have continued to change towards a new order to realize substantial democracy and more accountable people's representatives. 24 political parties attended the 2004 general elections. According to the results of the general election, the Golkar party won with 24,480,757 votes and 128 seats. The second position is occupied by PDI Perjuangan with 21,026,629 votes and 109 seats.


Table 3. Results of the Recapitulation of National Votes for the 2004 General Election and the Number of Political Party Seats Acquired in the DPR RI

Rank Political Parties

Votes Total


Pecent

Total Seats

DPR RI

1. Partai Golongan Karya

24.480.757

21,58

128

2. Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan

21.026.629

18.53

109


3. Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa

11.989.564

10,57

52

4. Partai Persatuan Pembangunan

9.248.764

8,15

58

5. Partai Demokrat

8.455.225

7,45

57

6. Partai Keadilan Sejahtera

8.325.020

7,34

45

7. Partai Amanat Nasional

7.303.324

6,44

52

8. Partai Bulan Bintang

2.970.487

2,62

11

9. Partai Bintang Reformasi

2.764.998

2,44

13

10. Partai Damai Sejahtera

2.414.254

2,13

12

11. Partai Karya Peduli Bangsa

2.399.290

2,11

2

12. Partai Keadilan dan Persatuan Indonesia

1.424.240

1,26

1

13. Partai Persatuan Demokrasi Kebangsaan

1.313.654

1,16

5

14. Partai Nasional Banteng Kemerdekaan

1.230.455

1,08

1

15. Partai Patriot Pancasila

1.073.139

0,95

0

16. Partai Nasional Indonesia Marhaenisme

923.159

0,81

1

17. Partai Persatuan Nahdlatul Ummah

Indonesia

895.610

0,79

0

18. Partai Pelopor

878.932

0,77

2

19. Partai Penegak Demokrat Indonesia

855.811

0,75

1

20. Partai Merdeka

842.541

0,74

0

21. Partai Sarikat Indonesia

679.296

0,60

0

22. Partai Perhimpunan Indonesia Baru

672.952

0,59

0

23. Partai Persatuan Daerah

657.916

0,58

0

24. Partai Buruh Sosial Demokrat

636.056

0,56

0


113.462.414

100

550

Source: Announcement of the Results of the 2004 KPU Election Vote Count Recapitulation

General Elections in 2009

The 2009 general elections were held on July 8, 2009. There are political dynamics that need to be noted ahead of the 2009 general elections. These dynamics are related to the KPU and political parties. The delegitimization of general elections emerged after the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK), which canceled the automation of parties that did not pass the electoral threshold (ET) but won seats in the DPR to participate in the 2009 general election. Nine parties fall into this category, namely PKPB, PKPI, PNI (Marhaenism), PPDI, PPDK, PP, PS, PBR, and PBB. The KPU was supposed to verify the legitimacy of the participation in the general election of additional parties participating in the 2009 general election, but the KPU instead included parties participating in the 2009 general election, namely the Merdeka Party, PNUI, PSI, and the Labor Party. As a result, there were smuggled participants in the 2009 general election, which delegitimized the general election because it was attended by parties that did not go through a verification process.

In the 2009 general election, there was a dualism in determining the candidate, namely between the conditional serial number system and the majority vote system. In the general election law for a party that gets seats, the election of the candidate is given to those who are in the lower or upper serial number with the condition that they get 30% more votes than the party's seats, so the general election of candidates is determined based on the serial number. Exceptions are given to those who get 100% of the BPP. Those who get 100% of the BPP are automatically determined as elected candidates, even though they are in the top serial number.

Several political parties have stated that they will not use the system as stipulated in the Election Law. Several parties, such as PAN, Golkar, PBR, and PD, plan to use a majority vote system in determining the elected candidate. However, other parties, such as PDIP, PKS, and PPP, still use

the conditional serial number system. To minimize internal party conflicts in preparing the list of legislative candidates and to move the party machine to get as many votes as possible, a majority vote system is used.

Many parties appear as artists on the list of candidates for legislative members. A candidate is considered capable of attracting voters with their popularity. Political parties also placed candidates who had blood relations with political elites who were currently in power in the government and parties. The number of voters in the 2009 general election reached 170,022,239 people, spread across 33 provinces.

In the 2009 presidential and vice-presidential general elections, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Boediono won 60.8% of the vote, while Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo Subianto won 26.79% of the votes, and Jusuf Kalla-Wiranto received 12.41% of the votes. The voter determination is based on the KPU's verification of population data provided by the government and regional governments. Those who are entitled to vote are Indonesian citizens, and on voting days, they are even 17 (seventeen) years of age or older or are married.


Table 4. 2009 Voting Results

No.

Political Parties

Total Votes

Total Seats

1.

Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat

3.922.870

17

2.

Partai Karya Peduli Bangsa

1461182

0

3.

Partai Pengusaha Dan Pekerja Indonesia

745625

0

4.

Partai Peduli Rakyat Nasional

1260794

0

5.

Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya

4.646.406

26

6.

Partai Barisan Nasional

761.086

0

7.

Partai Keadilan Dan Persatuan Indonesia

934.892

0

8.

Partai Keadilan Sejahtera

8.206.955

57

9.

Partai Amanat Nasional

6.254.580

46

10.

Partai Perjuangan Indonesia Baru

197.371

0

11.

Partai Kedaulatan

437.121

0

12.

Partai Persatuan Daerah

550.581

0

13.

Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa

5.146.122

28

14.

Partai Pemuda Indonesia

414.043

0

15.

Partai Nasional Indonesia Marhaenisme

316.752

0

16.

Partai Demokrasi Pembaharuan

896.660

0

17.

Partai Karya Perjuangan

351.440

0

18.

Partai Matahari Bangsa

414.750

0

19.

Partai Penegak Demokrasi Indonesia

137.727

0

20.

Partai Demokrasi Kebangsaan

671.244

0

21.

Partai Republika Nusantara

630.780

0

22.

Partai Pelopor

341.914

0

23.

Partai Golongan Karya

15.037.757

107

24.

Partai Persatuan Pembangunan

5.533.214

37

25.

Partai Damai Sejahtera

1.541.592

0

26.

Partai Nasional Benteng Kerakyatan Indonesia

468.696

0

27.

Partai Bulan Bintang

1.864.752

0

28.

Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan

14.600.091

95

29.

Partai Bintang Reformasi

1.264.333

0

30.

Partai Patriot Pancasila

547.351

0






31. Partai Demokrat

21.703.137

150

32. Partai Kasih Demokrasi Indonesia

252.293

0


33. Partai Indonesia Sejahtera

320.665

0


34. Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama

1.327.593

1


35. Partai Aceh Aman Seujahtra *)

-

-


36. Partai Daulat Aceh *)

-

-


37. Partai Independen Suara Rakyat Aceh *)

-

-


38. Partai Rakyat Aceh *)

-

-


39. Partai Aceh *)

-

-


40. Partai Bersatu Aceh *)

-

-


41. Partai Merdeka

111.623

0


42. Partai Persatuan Nahdlatul Ummah Indonesia

146.779

0


43. Partai Serikat Indonesia

140.551

0



44. Partai Buruh

266.203

0


*) Local parties in Aceh Province

Source: http://kepustakaan-presiden.perpusnas.go.id/election/directory/election/.

General Election in 2014

The 2014 general election was held on April 9, 2014. A total of 186,569,233 people were registered as voters in the 2014 Pileg. Voter turnout decreased in the 2014 midterm elections compared to previous general elections. It was proven that only 124,972,491 people (67.99%) had valid votes, while 61,596,742 people's (33.01%) votes were considered invalid. As for some notes related to the 2014 Pileg process, namely: 1) logistical distribution problems and logistical delays resulted in the legislative general election not being carried out according to the schedule set by the KPU; 2) approximately 0.5% of the 186 million citizens who have fulfilled the voting requirements have not been registered on the voter list; 3) the ballot voting system makes it difficult for voters because they choose four candidates at once, namely members of the DPR, Provincial DPRD, Regency/City DPRD, and members of the Regional Representative Council (DPD); 4) vote counting was out of sync at the provincial KPU level with voting groups at lower levels (Leo, 2014: 111-112).


Table 5. Results of the official recapitulation of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in the 2014 elections

No. Political Parties

Official Vote

Percent

Parliament Seats

1. Partai Nasional Demokrat

8.402.812

6.72

36

2. Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa

11.298.957

9,04

47

3. Partai Keadilan Sejahtera

8.480.204

6,79

40

4. Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan

23.681.471

18,96

109

5. Partai Golongan Karya

18.432.312

14,75

91

6. Partai Gerindra

14.760.371

11,81

73

7. Partai Demokrat

12.726.913

10,19

61

8. Partai Amanat Nasional

9.481.621

7,57

49

9. Partai Persatuan Pembangunan

8.157.488

6,53

19

10. Partai Hanura

6.579.498

5,26

18

11. Partai Bulan Bintang

1.825.750

1,46

0

12. Partai Keadilan dan Persatuan Indonesia

1.143.394

0,91

0

Source: Leo, 2014: 115

Some interesting things from the 2014 general election results include: 1) the failure of the Democratic Party to maintain the votes obtained in the previous general election; 2) many

political parties participating in the 2014 legislative general election received higher votes than in the previous election five years; 3) the Democratic National Party (NasDem) won 6.72% of the vote; 4) the parliamentary threshold requirement that only ten political parties are allowed to be active in Senayan representing Indonesia for up to five years of mandate (PDI-P, Golkar, Gerindra, Democrat, PKB, PAN, NasDem, PKS, PPP, and Hanura); and 5) the composition of DPR-RI members for the 2014-2019 period is quite balanced between old faces (defense) and new faces (Leo, 2014: 116-119).


Table 6. Comparison of calculations of old and new faces in the DPR

No Political Parties

Parliament Seats

Old Party

New Party

1. Partai Nasional Demokrat

35

0

35

2. Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa

47

18

29

3. Partai Keadilan Sejahtera

40

30

10

4. Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan

109

56

53

5. Partai Golongan Karya

91

42

49

6. Partai Gerindra

73

12

61

7. Partai Demokrat

61

33

28

8. Partai Amanat Nasional

49

22

27

9. Partai Persatuan Pembangunan

39

20

19

10. Partai Hanura

16

4

12

Source.http: www.republika.co.id

Based on the KPU's recapitulation of the 2014 Pileg results, no party can meet the minimum threshold for nominating pairs of presidential and vice-presidential candidates (presidential threshold), so a coalition of political parties cannot be avoided. Before the 2014 presidential general election coalition was formed, at least three political parties proposed names to be nominated as president. The three parties are the PDI-P, which is supporting Joko Wdodo; the Golkar Party is supporting Aburizal Bakrie; and the Gerindra Party is supporting Prabowo Subianto.

Several PDI-P figures, the Golkar Party, and the NasDem party lobbied intensively, which eventually narrowed down to two candidate names, namely Joko Widodo from the PDI-P and Prabowo Subianto from the Gerindra Party. As of May 18, 2014, the PDI-P and Gerindra Party have several other parties willing to work constructively with them. The parties that later formed a coalition with PDI-P were the NasDem Party (35 seats in the DPR-RI or equivalent to 6.3%), PKB (47 seats or 8.4%), and the Hanura Party (16 seats or 2.9%). Prabowo is supported by PAN (49 seats, or 8.8%), PKS (40 seats, or 7.1%), PPP (39 seats, or 7%), and Golkar (91 seats, or 16.3%).

The General Election Commission conducted tiered vote counts in the 2014 presidential general election from the TPS to the national level. At the national level, the KPU conducted a recapitulation of the real ballot results and results of the 2014 presidential and vice-presidential general elections from July 20 to July 22, 2014. At 20.00 WIB, the KPU announced the final results. KPU Chairperson Husni Kamil Manik read out KPU's decision number 535/KPP4/KPU/2014 regarding the determination of the vote acquisition results and the results of the 2014 Presidential General Election as follows: 1) The candidate pair for President and Vice President Serial Number 1: Sdr. H. Prabowo Subinoto and Mr. Ir. H.M. Hatta Rajasa received 62,576,444 votes, or 46.85% of the valid national votes; 2) The candidate pair for President and Vice President Serial Number 2: Mr. Ir. H. Joko Widodo and Mr. Drs. H.M. Jusuf Kalla received 70,976

votes. It can be concluded that the Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla pair won the general election for president and vice president of the Republic of Indonesia for the 2014–2019 period.

General Elections in 2019

Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections is the legal basis for holding elections for the DPR, DPD, and DPRD and the General Election for the President and Vice President in 2019, which will be held simultaneously. KPU RI election organizers must carry out general elections based on the principles of independence, honesty, fairness, legal certainty, orderliness, openness, proportionateness, professionalism, accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Legislative and executive general elections are held simultaneously so that the winner of the presidential and vice-presidential general elections is broadly supported by the supporting political parties, which will later sit in the legislature.

The use of a simultaneous general election system is considered to have implications for government governance in one country, including Indonesia. The simultaneous implementation of general elections is an alternative formula for changing the political system and government. This is based on experience and efforts to address various existing issues, including: 1) laying the foundation for the realization of a strong and stable presidential system of government; 2) facilitating the emergence of party system simplification (alliance, coalition, joint, or merger); 3) encouraging the formation of a more effective parliament; and 4) developing an election system that is simpler, shorter in time, and lower in cost in both legislative and presidential general elections.

The 2019 simultaneous general elections contained several weaknesses, including 1) that it was difficult for voters to know and choose candidates for political, executive, and legislative offices from so many names of candidates. The time needed by voters in the voting booth will also be very long because 1) there will be very thick ballot paper; 2) logistical preparations are very complicated; and 4) vote counting takes a long time.

In the general elections that were held on April 17, 2019, the presidential candidates were the same as in the 2014 elections, namely Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, with the difference being the vice-presidential candidates and the supporting parties. Ir. Joko Widodo collaborated with KH Ma'ruf Amin, the chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama Executive Board (PBNU), who is also chairman of the MUI. Meanwhile, Prabowo Subianto took Sandiaga Uno, a young entrepreneur and deputy governor of DKI Jakarta, as well as a cadre and administrator of the Gerindra Party. The parties carrying the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin pair are PDIP, Golkar, PKB, PPP, NasDem, Hanura, PKPI, Perindo, PSI, and Garuda. Prabowo-Sandiaga is supported by the Gerindra, Democrat, PAN, and PKS parties. The Joko Widodo-KH Ma'ruf Amin pair won the results of the presidential general election by obtaining 55.60% of the vote, while the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pair received 44.40% of the vote.



Source: https://pemilu2019.kpu.go.id/#/ppwp/hitung-voice.


Figure 1. Vote Count Results for the 2019 Republic of Indonesia Presidential and Vice-President General Elections at the National Level


General Election Principles

The direct principle in Law Number 12 of 2003 concerning the general elections in question is that voters have the right to vote directly according to their consciences without the intervention of intermediaries (Herning and Fery 2008: 109). This principle relates to the "democracy" engaged in directly electing its representatives to sit in parliament. Direct means that the electorate has the right to directly vote according to the will of their conscience, without intermediaries. This right is not delegated to a person or group of people. The use of "direct rights" means that power will be given directly to the recipient (Fajlurrahman, 2018: 27).

The principle of honesty in holding general elections is important. According to the International Human Rights Convention, three conditions cannot be separated from holding democratic general elections: free, fair, and regular. In the provisions of the legislation, "being honest" means that in holding general elections, every organizer, government official, participant, supervisor, monitor, voter, and all parties involved must act honestly under statutory regulations (Article 3 of Law No. 12 2003 concerning elections). In every general election, both at the local and regional levels, honesty is required from the actors toward the organizers.

According to Law Number 12 of 2003 Concerning General Elections, the principle of fairness requires that when elections are held, every voter and general election participant receives equal treatment and is free of fraud by any party. Fair has two meanings, namely, fair as a moral attitude and fair because of legal orders. As a result, election implementation necessitates a fair attitude from all parties, including the community, voters, political parties, and general election organizers. A fair attitude is carried out to maintain the quality of general elections that are fair and do not favor the interests of certain individuals and groups (Fajlurrahman 2018: 30-32). The principle of fairness was born from the political struggles of the New Order, which proved that when general election administrators were given authoritative power, they tended to act unfairly. Without justice, we cannot give birth to democratic general elections (Fatayati, 2017: 158).

The principle of freedom according to the General Election Law means that every citizen who has the right to vote is free to make his choice without pressure or coercion from anyone. In its implementation, every citizen is guaranteed security. In democracies, freedom is a fundamental principle. By holding elections, power can be replaced regularly and in an orderly manner so that all citizens are given the freedom to choose and be elected without interference or pressure from anyone.

The principle of secrecy means that when voting, voters are guaranteed the secrecy of their choice; it will not be known by any party to whom the vote is given. The principle of secrecy is very vital in the general election process, based on the Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair General Elections adopted by the InterParliamentary Council at its 154th Session (Paris, 26 March 1994) (Fatayati 2017: 161). For elections to continue in the corridors of substantial democracy, the principle of secrecy is also used.

The general elections principle means that all citizens who have fulfilled the requirements according to the law have the right to take part in general elections without any discrimination. Citizens who are 17 years old or married have the right to vote, and those who are 21 years old have the right to vote without any discrimination (exceptions). General elections that are general in nature guarantee opportunities that apply in their entirety to all citizens who have fulfilled

certain requirements without discrimination (exceptions) based on references to ethnicity, religion, race, class, gender, regionality, and social status (Fajlurrahman, 2018: 29).


CONCLUSION

Indonesia is a democratic country that adheres to a government election system by way of general elections (Pemilu) for both regional and presidential offices. The role of the community in granting voting rights to those who already have the right to vote is one measure of the success of holding general elections. General elections in Indonesia have been held 12 times, namely during the parliamentary period (1955), the New Order period (1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997), and

the reform period (1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019). During the reform period, many new parties emerged that took part in general elections. This is inversely proportional to the New Order era, where only three parties participated in general elections. In 2004, for the first time, the Indonesian people could directly elect the president and vice president, in addition to electing candidates for legislative members. Presidents who succeeded in holding office for two consecutive terms during the reform period were Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004–2009) and (2009–2014) and Joko Widodo (2014–2019) and (2019–2024).

The implementation of general elections in Indonesia is inseparable from the principles of general elections under Law Number 12 of 2003. It is hoped that the implementation of the next election will be carried out better. General election organizers must also adapt new work procedures and habits in socialization activities for implementation. Mapping potential problems in general elections and the readiness of various regions to face the upcoming general elections and local general elections is very important so that the implementation of the upcoming general elections can be carried out in a conducive manner, fulfilling the elements of democracy and justice.


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