Understanding elections is not just about knowing how to mobilize voters to go to the Polling Stations (Tempat Pemungutan Suara or TPS). There are four electoral dimensions that candidates must also understand: the system, management, actors, and election law enforcement.
"Elections consist of four dimensions," said Titi Anggraini, a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia, during the Women's Politics Class organized by the Research and Development Institute (Lembaga Penelitian dan Pengembangan or LPP) of the Aisyiyah Regional Leadership in East Java, Malang on September 28, 2023.
The electoral system explains how the votes cast by voters are converted into seats for political parties or candidates. Election management encompasses how the electoral system is operationalized to produce the elected public officials.
"Elections are about various stages, like building blocks connected to each other to form a complete electoral process, until the final election results are determined and inaugurated," said Titi.
The next dimension is the election actors. According to Titi, election actors include not only the participants and organizers but also the media to reach voters on a larger scale. The final element is the enforcement of election laws, which involves safeguarding the purity of the voters' voices.
"As a candidate, it's also important to position oneself to campaign effectively," emphasized Titi.
To avoid getting lost in an unclear wilderness, we need to understand the fundamentals of organizing elections. Because elections are about applying the procedural rules that have been established in various regulations and enforcing them. []
Translated by Catherine Natalia
