Depok, September 1st 2023. Universitas Indonesia (UI) through the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) in collaboration with CNN Indonesia invited the Minister of Youth and Sports (Menpora), Ario Bimo Nandito Ariotedjo, S.H.; Governor of West Java, Dr. H. Mochamad Ridwan Kamil, S.T., M.U.D.; Chairman of the General Election Commission Hasyim Asy’ari, S.H., M.Si., Ph.D .; as well as young politician Tsamara Amany Alatas, S.I.Kom., MPP, in The Nation Fest event entitled “Your Voice Your Future”.
The event, which took place on Wednesday (30/8), at the UI Purnomo Prawiro Hall, aimed to provide political education to students considering that the number of young voters in the 2024 General Election (Pemilu) is quite large. CNN Indonesia said that the number of young voters in the 2024 election is projected to reach nearly 60%.
This projection is in line with data released by the Commissioner of the General Election Commission (KPU) of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), which predicts that voters aged 17–30 years will reach 31.23%, voters aged 31–40 years will reach 20.70%, and voters aged under 17 years but already married as much as 0.003%. This means that young voters are a determinant of the direction and color of Indonesian politics going forward.
In his opening remarks, the Dean of FISIP UI, Prof. Dr. Semiarto Aji Purwanto, said that, “Like a ship, the presidential candidate is the future captain of the ship who will carry the ship and the entire crew later. Therefore, as young people, we have an important role in choosing the captain to ensure the ship can sail well.”
In the 2024 Election, each voter will receive five ballot papers to determine the President and Vice President, Members of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), Members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Members of the Provincial Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD), and Members of the City/Regency DPRD. For this reason, young voters must get to know the prospective candidates to know the vision and mission as well as the programs that will be implemented by each prospective candidate.
Regarding prospective candidates in the election, Gen Z think that to become a potential leader, someone must have privileges. In fact, not everyone has the privilege to become a potential leader. Responding to this concern, Menpora Ario Bimo explained that all levels of society have the same opportunity to become leaders. He said, “You don’t have to have privilege, but the opportunity will be present based on the abilities and innovation possessed by these human resources.”
The quality and abilities of prospective candidates are things that every voter should take into consideration. However, there are still many people who do not look for information about the potential leaders they will elect.
According to Governor Ridwan Kamil, many people choose potential leaders based only on physical appearance, a person’s character, or even other skills. This is not a problem if the abilities possessed by the prospective candidate catch the heart of the public and are beneficial to society. However, it would be better if the public first finds out what the potential leader is like through information on digital media or other trusted sources.
Apart from holding political discussions, The Nation Fest also presents various exciting and educational activities for students. This activity is part of a series of CNN Indonesia Political Show safaris held on campuses. With this political roadshow, it is hoped that young people will be able to think more carefully about their voting rights, as this will greatly affect the future of the Indonesian people.
