UNAIR NEWS – 2024 Election is getting closer, and the mechanism and procedures for the general election have received various considerations. One of them is the proposal for a closed- list election system which has now received many arguments from various elements.
If it is applied in the upcoming general election, a political science lecturer from Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) Ali Sahab SIP MSi, considers it a setback to democracy.
“In a closed-list election system, people do not have the freedom to choose legislative candidates (caleg) because they only choose the party,” he said.
In contrast to an open electoral system, a closed-list system limits voters from voting for political parties as a whole so that legislative candidates are determined by the number of seats the party gets. Ali said that this mechanism could have an impact on lowering the level of participation due to the absence of known and electable candidates on the ballot papers.
Contest for party leader position
Furthermore, the ownership of the right to determine the position and sequence of candidates who successfully advance to become legislatures can also have an impact on party management.
“This system will further strengthen the parties, especially the position of party chairman. So there will be other impacts, the party leader position will be contested,” explained the lecturer, who has worked at UNAIR since 2009.
In Indonesia, both systems have been used. A closed-list system was used in the 1955 and 1999 elections, while an open system was used in the 2009, 2014, and 2019 legislative elections.
Although each has advantages and disadvantages, according to Ali, an open system is a system that supports the democratic aspects of society.
“An open electoral system is a system that adequately represents constituency representation, meaning that ‘half’ voters know who is their representative at the legislative level,” said the lecturer of UNAIR Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP). (*)
Author: Stefanny Elly
Editor : Binti Q. Masruroh
