[PRESS RELEASE] Regional Election and Digital Campaign in Times of Pandemic | Online Webinar

Yogyakarta, August 28^th, 2020 – The year 2020 is one of the most important years for the democratic process in Indonesia, where this year Indonesia’ regional head elections (Pemilihan Kepala Daerah – Pilkada) will be held simultaneously in 224 regencies and 37 cities in Indonesia. Different from previous Indonesian political election events, the COVID-19 pandemic opens up new possibilities for the use of online and digital media in several processes of Pilkada 2020, such as campaign activities. This has to be done to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus and adjustments to the current health protocols, as regulated in KPU Regulation no. 6 of 2020. To further discuss the readiness of the Pilkada 2020 and how digital media affects the sustainability of democracy in this political event, Center for Digital Society (CfDS) with Facebook Indonesia and Perludem held an online webinar with the headline ‘Pilkada and Digital Campaign in the Middle of a Pandemic’. The webinar also invited the Indonesian Election Commission’s (Komisi Pemilihan Umum – KPU) commissioner, I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi, Facebook Indonesia’s Government Relations Manager, Noudhy Valdryno, Chairman of the East Java Province’s Election Oversight Body (BAWASLU Provinsi Jawa Timur), Moh. Amin and Perludem’s Advisory Board Member, Titi Anggraini. The event which was held on Friday (28/08) was using the Zoom platform and broadcasted live via YouTube.

Digital Campaign Regulation

I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi as one of the commissioners of the Indonesian KPU stated that in preparing the Pilkada 2020 amid a pandemic, KPU made several changes in regulations. KPU regulations that have changed include nomination regulations and campaign regulations. In the simultaneous regional elections this time, KPU has focused on campaign regulations, especially campaign regulations on online media and social media. The KPU allows candidates to campaign on social media during the campaign period, through an account that has been officially registered to KPU. He also added that KPU had not yet decided on the suitable regulations regarding what kind of permitted contents of the campaign, and also the accountability and transparency of campaign funds through online media.

Oversight on Social Media Campaign

Social media has an important role in Pilkada in the pandemic era, especially to maximize campaigns that cannot be carried out face-to-face. However, according to Moh. Amin as the Chairman of the East Java Province’s BAWASLU, social media also has several negative impacts on the campaign which has the potential to become a destructive propaganda tool, such as black campaign, hoax, hate speech, bullying, and the use of other sensitive issues. Therefore. to maximize the supervision of content on campaigns on social media, BAWASLU collaborates with the KPU, Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Informatics, National Intelligence Body, Indonesian Army and Police, and other relevant stakeholders.

Facebook’s Commitment to the Pilkada 2020

In his presentation, Noudhy Valdryno conveyed Facebook’s mission in maintaining the integrity of political elections in the realm of social media. This commitment is manifested in the presence of several key priorities for Facebook during the election period, namely filtering fake accounts, reducing the spread of hoax news, making political advertisements more transparent, driving out parties that might threaten the election process, and helping political election administering institutions to socialize the stages. the applicable stages. Facebook also facilitates political candidates with the political advertising feature, while still prioritizing on the transparency and accountability of the funds used in funding political advertisements through the Ads Transparency feature.

Regional Election and Digital Campaign in Pandemic

Even though it will be held amid the pandemic situations, the implementation of the Pilkada 2020 which will be mostly filled with digital campaigns must still uphold democratic principles. Policy-makers and social media platforms must take responsibility in the process of providing education and information to voters to make political decisions according to their interests and free from pressure. According to Titi Anggraini, the Pilkada 2020 is a ‘special’ political election event because it is risky, requires large costs, and is quite difficult in the implementation process. “Even though the implementation is difficult, we can learn from other countries in the world that are holding political elections amid the pandemic. Do not let voters face difficulties in this election,” said Titi. In addition, Titi also emphasized the importance of formulating a code of ethics for campaign behavior in social media, so that the implementation of campaign activities via social media in the Pilkada 2020 can also be executed democratically.

Writer: Firya Qurratu’ain A.
Editor: Raka Wicaksono