CALD Witnesses One of the World’s Biggest Electoral Exercise

Inspired by Indonesia’s democratic gains, CALD organized the election mission to share experiences and best practices on various aspects of the electoral process.  Held in cooperation with the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) Indonesia Office, the mission provided the participants with the opportunity to personally witness the tight electoral contest between PDIP-led coalition’s Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Jusuf Kalla, and Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra)-led coalition’s Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa.

 The mission started on the eve of the elections on 8 July, when participants from Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, together with PDI-P and FNF officials, gathered for the welcome dinner. Mr. Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff, Resident Representative of FNF Indonesia Office, then provided a briefing on Indonesian presidential elections, candidates and political party coalitions.

 On election day, 9 July, the participants started their day early to observe the voting process in the Menteng and Senopati districts.  While in a precinct in Menteng, the participants were treated to a surprise when presidential frontrunner Jokowi arrived to cast his vote.  They also visited the Jokowi-JK Media Center for a briefing by Pak Deddy Y. Sitorus on PDI-P’s presidential campaign.  From there, the delegation went to Soekarno-Hatta Proclamation Monument to listen to the first major speech of Jokowi after the polls closed.

In that speech, Jokowi said: “Today, a new Indonesia has been built. Today is a new era. I want to reiterate that today’s victory is not the victory of Jokowi-JK, not the victory of the party but the victory of the people of Indonesia. Our task today is to monitor the results of the quick count today until the final count by the KPU (General Elections Commission) – until it reaches the official count.” 

In the evening, Mr. Masykurudin Hafidz of People’s Voter Education Network (JPPR) shared the election watchdog’s initial assessment of the elections.  He expressed concern that both presidential candidates claimed victory based on conflicting results of various quick counts, and emphasized the need for vigilance to ensure that the official results reflect the will of the people.  The participants then capped the night with an open sharing of insights in the residence of Mr. Kleine-Brockhoff.

On the second and last day of the mission on 10 July, the participants met Pak Hanif Dhakiri, MP from PDI-P’s coalition partner Nation Awakening Party (PKB).  This was followed by a plenary with the officials of the KPU, where the participants raised questions and shared their thoughts regarding the conduct of the elections.  It also provided an opportunity to meet members of other election missions, particularly the members of a big delegation from Burma (Myanmar) – a country which will soon hold by-elections and general elections.

After lunch, Pak Sidarto Danusubroto, Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) of the Republic of Indonesia, received the delegates in the Indonesian Parliament.  Afterwards, a debriefing session chaired by Secretary Neric Acosta was held at the FNF Indonesia Office, where Mr. Kleine-Brockhoff informed the participants that all established and credible quick count organizations attest to the victory of the Jokowi-JK tandem.  The session was followed by a farewell dinner hosted by PDI-P, with a key member of the campaign team, Pak Hasto Kristiyanto, expressing his gratitude to the delegation on behalf of the party.

“We are so impressed by the Indonesian people’s trust and confidence in the electoral process”, said Secretary Acosta.  “And this stance is awe-inspiring considering that the country is a younger democracy compared to others in the region.  Indeed, Indonesia has come a long way in terms of consolidating its democratic gains.”

The official results of the election will be announced on 22 July.