REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Central Papua Province has recorded itself as the region that has registered the most disputes over the 2024 General Election Results (PHPU) to the Constitutional Court (MK). Of the 277 incoming disputes, nearly 10 percent occurred in Central Papua.
Central Papua is a province that was only formed two years ago. So that the preparation of election organizers, both KPU and Bawaslu Central Papua is considered inadequate. This includes the recruitment of KPU and Bawaslu personnel who are considered unprofessional. This condition is seen as a correction for election organizers at the central level.
Based on data from the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), there were 21 PHPUs in Central Papua registered with the Constitutional Court. In fact, only about two regions in Central Papua are holding direct elections. The rest, about 6 regions still use the noken system, namely, Puncak Jaya, Puncak, Paniai, Intan Jaya, Deiyai, and Dogiyai Regencies.
“The emergence of various problems in the implementation of elections can be caused by the lack of professionalism of the organizers, namely, the KPU and Bawaslu,” said Perludem researcher Ihsan Maulana in a statement received on Wednesday (27/3/2024).
During the implementation of the 2024 elections, horizontal violence occurred in Central Papua. Some even resulted in dozens of casualties where there were mutual attacks with arrows and sharp weapons for the sake of fighting over the votes of certain community groups.
“For the new provinces, the KPU RI should supervise directly, not be left to ‘play’ on their own. Moreover, the fact is that there are not only many disputes, but also fights that have resulted in casualties,” said Ihsan.
In addition, according to Ihsan, the high number of election disputes in Central Papua signals the need for a change from the old system (noken) to involving active public participation.
“Residents there must be educated to vote directly as part of their rights as citizens. No longer represented by the tribal chief or others,” said Ihsan.
Perludem observes that such problems, if not addressed, will continue to recur. Perludem considers that if the noken system is to be maintained, then its implementation must be transparent, accountable, and open up space for broad public involvement.
“For long-term interests, the provisions of the noken system need to be reformed. So that every uniqueness in the noken election method can be accommodated legally and with good standards. The political rights of every citizen must be guaranteed and protected in the noken provisions,” said Perludem Executive Director Titi Anggraini.
Titi also supports the improvement of human resources (HR) as the election organizer there. Titi asked that recruitment be carried out professionally through strict selection, not because of closeness or nepotism.
“If it is not possible for local residents, then both the parent provincial KPU and the Indonesian KPU must provide direct supervision,” Titi appealed.
Of the five provinces on Cendrawasih Island, three of them are included in the top 10 provinces in Indonesia that have reported the most 2024 election disputes to the Constitutional Court. Apart from Central Papua, there is Papua with 15 disputes and Papua Mountains (11 cases). They join Aceh, South Sumatra, West Java, East Java, North Maluku and Maluku.
This article was published on Republika.co.id with the title “Central Papua Records Most Election Disputes, Perludem: KPU & Bawaslu Must Evaluate”, https://news.republika.co.id/berita/sb07w9451/papua-tengah-catat-sengketa-pemilu-terbanyak-perludem-kpu-bawasluharus-evaluasi