Democracy is not a perfect system for regulating human life. However, history everywhere has proven that democracy as a model of state life has the smallest chance of insulting humanity. Therefore, even though in various documentation of this country the word democracy is not often found, the founders of the country since the movement era tried hard to apply the principles of a democratic state to Indonesia.
There is no democratic country without general elections (elections), because elections are the main instrument in implementing democratic principles. In fact, elections are not only an arena for expressing people’s freedom in choosing their leaders, but also an arena for assessing and punishing leaders who appear before the people. However, experience in various places and countries shows that the implementation of elections is often just a political procedural activity, so that the process and results deviate from the election objectives while also harming democratic values.
This reality requires continuous efforts to build and improve a fair electoral system, namely elections that are able to accommodate people’s freedom and maintain people’s sovereignty. Election organizers are required to understand election philosophy, have technical knowledge and skills in organizing elections, and consistently implement election regulations, so that the election process runs according to its objectives. Furthermore, the election results, namely the elected leaders, need to be continuously encouraged and empowered so that they can carry out their functions optimally; They also need to be controlled so that they do not abuse the people’s sovereignty given to them.
Realizing that these conditions require the participation of every citizen, the former 2004 Election Supervisors gathered in a forum called the Association for Elections and Democracy, abbreviated as Luludem in order to be effectively involved in the process of building a democratic country and implementing fair elections . The moral values of election supervisors that are embedded while carrying out election supervision duties, as well as knowledge and skills regarding the implementation and supervision of elections, are capital for Perludem to maximize their participation.
Perludem was founded in January 2005 with the legal entity status of a Association. The idea to establish the Perludem emerged on the sidelines of the Panwas evaluation meeting throughout Indonesia after the 2004 Legislative and Presidential Elections, which in the end was responded positively by all the participants present. Following up on this response, several teams were mandated to prepare concepts, designs and institutional administration documents. Several figures involved in the process of establishing Pensiunem include; Bambang Wijayanto, Iskandar Sondhaji, Poltak, Budi Wijarjo, Andi Nurpati, etc.
The idea of this association requires member representatives in each province. The discussion took a relatively long time until finally the institutionalization of ideas and hopes crystallized in January 2005, which was marked by the issuance of a Notarial Deed of Perludem with the legal entity of the Association. The brief composition of the management includes:
a. Chairman: Didik Supriyanto
b. Deputy Chairman: Topo Santoso
c. Secretary : Nur Hidayat Sardini
d. Treasurer: Siti Noordjannah Djohantini
e. Several provincial members: AR Muzammil (West Kalimantan), Aswanto (South Sulawesi), M. Jakfar (Aceh), etc.
Along with the organization’s journey in responding to the social and political dynamics in the elections, certain conditions required the company to change the type of legal entity from an association to a foundation. Therefore, with the agreement of the founders and members, in relatively a year’s time, Perludem officially became the Perludem Foundation on February 6 2006. This change changed the structure of the previously large organization to become slimmer. Perludem structural configuration after becoming a Foundation is as follows:
a. Supervisor: Didik Supriyanto
b. Supervisor: Topo Santoso
c. Management
i. Chairperson: Titi Anggraini
ii. Secretary : Rahmi Sosiawaty
iii. Treasurer: Irmalidarti
One of the basic reasons for this change is that the Need for Democracy needs to make quick decisions to keep up with changes in national policy and discourse regarding elections which are also very fast. With a very wide distribution of members, the decision-making process will not be able to keep up with changes in existing political and legal dynamics, not to mention dealing with obvious differences in views among fellow members. Apart from that, it is also due to several other substantial and technical reasons.
As time goes by Perludem regenerates its internal management. Regeneration in an organization is a good thing and shows a healthy organization. This management has come into effect since 23 August 2020. For this reason, the new Perludem management configuration is as follows:
Chairman of the Board of Trustees: Didik Supriyanto
Members of the Board of Trustees:
- Topo Santoso
- Siti Noordjanah Djojantini
- Titi Anggraini
Supervisor: Aswanto
Chairman of the Board: Khoirunnisa Nur Agustyati
Secretary: Fadli Ramadhanil
Treasurer: Irmalidarti
The scope of Perludem activities throughout the organization’s journey has varied with Advocacy as the main core. The advocacy carried out by Perludem is carried out using an evidence-based approach, so that the substance of the advocacy has a strong academic bargain. However, in general, Perludem activities are:
A. Assessment:
- reviewing election regulations, mechanisms and procedures;
- reviewing the implementation of elections;
- mapping the strengths and weaknesses of election regulations;
- describe the advantages and disadvantages of holding elections;
- submit recommendations for improving systems and regulations, etc.
B. Training:
- Participate in efforts to increase election stakeholders’ understanding of election philosophy;
- Increasing understanding of community leaders about the importance of community participation in elections;
- Increasing the knowledge and skills of election officials;
- Increasing the knowledge and skills of election observers, etc.
C. Monitoring:
- Monitoring the implementation of elections;
- Participate in monitoring election organizers so that they work in accordance with existing regulations;
- Record and document cases of election violations and disputes, etc.