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| A lecturer of Government Science Department of Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM). (Photo: Ghalib PR) |
The youth vote, which comprises Generation Z and millennials, has a large share in determining the outcome of the 2024 elections. Based on the Data Penduduk Potensial Pemilih Pemilu (DP4) (trans: Election Potential Voters Data) submitted by Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) (trans: the General Election Commission), the proportion of voters aged 17-39 years ranges from 55 to 60 percent.
It attracted the attention of a lecturer from Government Science of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Achmad Apriyanto Romadhan, S.IP., M.Si. According to him, the youth contribution is very significant in determining the future of Indonesia. Therefore, they must take care of themselves and use their voting rights wisely.
"Indeed, they need to take care of themselves from the adverse exposures. Let's take a look, in this era there are many youth are caught up in political marketing by politicians, including the public branding," he explained.
Yanto, his nickname, also explained the political matters. The community cannot endorse or nominate a candidate because the domain of the political parties is the endorsers. Thus, the public must be careful in deciding which candidates to choose, especially those who have a good track record in their careers.
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"Since the public cannot constitutionally nominate, the public has a duty to further investigate the names of the candidates who have been presented. We must be careful to choose candidates who have a good record and are ready to represent the public interest," he added.
Moreover, He also mentioned political campaigns currently confronted with the rapid development of information technology media. One of the effects is the fuzziness of candidate information. The good image that is tried to be displayed is sometimes different from what happened. It has led to information biases among the public, especially the youth who are connected to the digital world.
"On the other hand, many youths are also involved in political contestation as candidates. This is completely acceptable because it does not violate the constitutional rules. Youth are expected to be able to offer new ideas and thoughts. Focusing on public needs, and being able to make real contributions that are enjoyed by the community," he added.
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Yanto added that today's politics is experiencing two major dilemmas. On one side, many candidates are pragmatic and do not represent the public interest. Conversely, the voters also need more education in using their voting rights properly. It can be seen from one of the phenomena, namely "votes" that are easily bought or transactional politics.
"In dealing with these two issues, we need the support of the mass media, which is the fourth pillar of democracy. The mass media must have high independence to conduct in-depth investigations into the track record of candidates. The youth are also expected to fill these spaces in order to uphold a fair democracy," he concluded. (put/lib/wil)
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