Many Pragmatic Voters in Elections, Democracy Education a Challenge |
Published on HivePostify by @ayijufridar · Tue Jul 21 2026
The Lhokseumawe City Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslih) found that pragmatic views persist among the public when making political choices. Most residents admitted to preferring candidates with money over considering their vision, mission, and work programs.
This finding emerged during a Democracy Consolidation event held by the Lhokseumawe City Panwaslih in collaboration with women's groups at the Griya Mansion Housing Complex, A Panggoi Hamlet, Muara Dua District, Aceh, Indonesia, on Monday, July 20, 2026.
The dialogue was led by the Head of the Lhokseumawe City Panwaslih, Dedy Syahputra, accompanied by Panwaslih members Yuli Asbar and Ayi Jufridar, as well as staff members Edi Saifandi and Muhammad Khadafi. The discussion took place casually on the porch of a resident's home while enjoying coffee and afternoon snacks.
Opening the discussion, Yuli Asbar asked participants about their experiences with the practice of money politics in the 2024 Election. "In the 2024 Election, did anyone come to offer money?" he asked.
One participant, Ayu, admitted to having approached a candidate's team offering money, but the offer was rejected. "There were, but we refused because our choice wasn't for that candidate. And it was aimed at groups, not individuals," Ayu explained.
The discussion then turned to the reasons people make political choices. One participant openly admitted that economic factors remain a primary consideration for some voters.
"Obviously, we choose those with money. What's the point of having lots of ideas if they can't meet the people's needs? If they have money, all the people's needs can be met to the fullest," one resident stated.
According to Yuli Asbar, this view poses a challenge in building a healthy democratic culture. The public is expected to increasingly understand the importance of voting based on the candidate's capacity, integrity, and work program, rather than on material imbalances.
In addition to discussing voter politics, the forum also highlighted the issue of voting rights. A voter claimed to have missed the opportunity to vote in the 2024 Election because he didn't receive a voting invitation.
"I came to the polling station with my ID card. I was told to return at 12:00. When I returned, they said the ballots were out of stock," he complained. Responding to this, the Head of the Lhokseumawe City Election Supervisory Agency (Panwaslih), Dedy Syahputra, explained that each polling station (TPS) receives ballots based on the number of voters on the Permanent Voter List (DPT), plus a 2.5 percent reserve.
"The reserve is provided to anticipate damaged ballots or errors during voting," Dedy explained.
He added that voters using ID cards can vote after 12:00 WIB as long as ballots are still available. If ballots at their original polling station run out, voters can be directed to another polling station with remaining ballots due to absent voters on the DPT.
On that occasion, Dedy also urged the public to actively ensure their population data is included in the voter list during the voter data update process.
"Don't let your right to vote be lost because your data hasn't been updated. The public needs to actively check and report if they haven't registered as a voter," he said.
He also urged voters to be more rational by considering the track record, integrity, vision, and work programs of the candidates.
"Don't choose your representatives based on material things. Use your right to vote wisely to determine the direction of development for the next five years. The better the public's choice, the stronger the democracy we build," Dedy concluded.[]
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