The integrity of the 2024 Elections information on social media must be ensured. Information should not only be true and accurate but should also be transparent to guarantee the integrity of election participants in addressing issues of interest to youth voters. Election information with integrity will support sovereign voters as part of the requirements for democratic elections.
“Empowered voters or well-informed voters, because information is the basis for making decisions. Therefore, the single vote one possesses should have meaning and impact," said academician from the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia, Titi Anggraini, in a talk show series at the event "Collaboration between Bawaslu and TikTok Indonesia Promoting the Integrity of the 2024 Elections" at the General Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) office in Central Jakarta (18/8)."
Titi pointed out that democratic elections have several requirements. These requirements include a democratic legal framework, professional and integrity-driven election organizers, free and competitive political parties, fair and effective law enforcement, professional and neutral bureaucracy, and most importantly, empowered voters.
Titi added that the youth are a modality. According to this member of the advisory board of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi or Perludem), this age group is generally active users of social media and technology. If election information is not present on social media for youth voters, the modality will diminish.
"So, what we need is an understanding of the anatomy of our voters, which can actually be an asset, to make the election meaningful and produce public officials who have an impact through information," Titi expressed.
According to Titi, young people are relatively more open to discussing environmental issues, climate change, the impacts of global warming, and the sustainability of the Earth's future. In her opinion, these are the topics that should be discussed by election participants.
"Disinformation will eventually be marginalized, and people will engage in dialogue," Titi concluded.
The Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) and TikTok Indonesia have officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to ensure the integrity of information related to the 2024 Elections. Both institutions hope that youth and first-time voters can receive accurate election information without hoaxes, defamation, or ethnicity, religion, race, and inter-group relations deviations. []
Translated by Catherine Natalia
