Bawaslu's Strategy in Increasing Community Participation: Preventive Efforts in Supervision and Prevention of Violations in the 2024 Regional Election in Surabaya

EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 4, No.3, December 2024, pp. 286-296 ISSN 2776-5229 1 286 Bawaslu's Strategy in Increasing Community Participation: Preventive Efforts in Supervision and Prevention of Violations in the 2024 Regional Election in Surabaya Faizal Rusdi Bachtiar 1, Amelia Kartika Oktaviani 2*, Muhammad Hanif Baihaqi 3, Hasan Ismail 4 1,2,3,4 Program Studi Administrasi Publik, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya * ARTICLE INFO Article history Received November 30, 2024 Revisied December 16, 2024 Accepted Decemner 17, 2024 Keywords: Election Supervision, Public Participation, Collaborative Governance, Sigaplapor. ABSTRACT This study aims to analyze the strategy of the Surabaya City Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) in increasing public participation as a preventive effort in supervising the 2024 Pilkada. Bawaslu uses a collaborative governance approach that involves non-government actors in decision-making and utilizes digital technology through the Sigaplapor platform to facilitate reporting of election violations. The use of social media and training for volunteer supervisors are also part of this strategy. The results of the study show that public participation through a collaborative approach and digital technology has succeeded in strengthening election supervision. However, there are still challenges in the form of limited digital literacy and resistance from certain political actors. This policy requires increasing digital literacy, strengthening cooperation with law enforcement, and increasing digital security to ensure the sustainability of inclusive, transparent, and accountable election supervision. 1. INTRODUCTION Elections are the most important foundation of the Indonesian democratic system. Therefore, it is important for all parties to ensure that the elections are conducted fairly, free from fraud, and transparently. (Santri et al., 2023). The key to achieving this goal lies in a strong and effective election monitoring strategy. The election monitoring strategy must be able to oversee the entire election process, from candidate registration to vote counting, to ensure that the election process is conducted in accordance with democratic rules and principles. The role of Bawaslu as an independent body tasked with monitoring and overseeing the conduct of elections is very important in the election monitoring strategy. The main task of Bawaslu is to monitor the continuity of elections to ensure that there are no violations or deviations in the election process. The role of Bawaslu as an election supervisor clearly requires the support and participation of the community. The hope is that the elections will be conducted fairly (open, free, secret, honest, and just) and democratically (Gea, 2023); (Toni & Gultom, 2023). Based on Perbawaslu (Regulation of the Election Supervisory Agency) on Participatory Supervision (Number 2 of 2023), (Article 102 letter d) and Article (104 letter f) of Law No. 7/2017 on Elections, the City Bawaslu is obligated to enhance and develop public participation in election EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 4, No. 3, December 2024, pp. 286-296 ISSN 2776-5229 2 287 supervision in its area in preventing election violations and disputes. Theoretically, the process of increasing public participation for the enhancement of oversight and prevention of electoral violations, Bawaslu Kota Surabaya plays a role in facilitating the community, which can take the form of forums or social media, to undertake preventive measures in overseeing the local elections. This is demonstrated by the creation of a community oversight forum on social media in the form of Instagram. On this social media platform, the Bawaslu includes a link for the public to report fraud, injustice, and violations during the 2024 Pilkada administration process. The forum facility program provided by Bawaslu Kota Surabaya has been running for 6 (six) years until now, 2024 (Village et al., 2023); (Ranbilal et al., 2024). Election supervision is the process of monitoring and evaluating various aspects of the general election to ensure that the election is conducted freely, fairly, transparently, and democratically. This supervision aims to maintain the integrity of the election process, prevent violations, and ensure that the election results reflect the will of the people (Cerdas et al., 2024); (Ahmad Mukhlasin, 2020). There are several types of election supervision identified by Sisk. Internal supervision is carried out by election organizing bodies, such as the KPU and Bawaslu in Indonesia, to ensure that the entire election process follows the established regulations. External oversight is conducted by parties outside the election organizers, such as civil society organizations, political parties, independent monitors, or the mass media, to maintain transparency and accountability and to prevent potential fraud. (Ningrum et al., 2024). In addition, there is also international oversight conducted by international institutions or organizations, such as the UN or the EU, especially in countries that are just beginning the process of democracy or have a history of problematic elections. Another type is participatory observation, where civil society and ordinary citizens actively engage in monitoring the electoral process, such as election observer volunteers who oversee campaign violations or vote-buying. Lastly, there is technical oversight that focuses on technical aspects, including the use of election technology and logistical security, to ensure that election equipment functions properly and is not susceptible to manipulation. Cooperation between these various types of oversight is necessary to ensure that elections proceed in accordance with democratic values and uphold the quality of elections in the city of Surabaya. Election supervision, including regional elections, is an effort to ensure that all stages of the election administration proceed in accordance with the laws and regulations. According to Law Number 7 of 2017 on Elections, Bawaslu has the authority to oversee all stages of the election, identify potential violations, and take preventive measures to avoid violations. The supervision carried out by Bawaslu covers various aspects, such as voter list verification, campaign monitoring, and election day observation. Prevention is all efforts to prevent electoral and voting violations and electoral and voting process disputes through oversight tasks by election supervisors or by involving Faizal Rusdi Bachtiar et.al (Bawaslu's Strategy in Increasing Community Participation) EDUSOSHUM Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities Vol. 4, No. 3, December 2024, pp. 286-296 ISSN 2776-5229 3 288 community participation and media publication (Pratama, 2019); (Mei et al., 2021). Forms of preventing electoral violations and disputes include Vulnerability Identification (...truncated)