TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) director Arief Maulana predicted that the number of abstainers or golput in the upcoming 2019 election would increase when compared to that in the 2014 election.

“Based on several reasons, in my opinion, debates about non-voters and golput practices will raise in 2019 compared to that in 2014,” said Arief in the YLBHI Jakarta building today.

Arief stated that a refusal to participate in an election is a global phenomenon, and that is people’s choice as an expression of their political option.

“Golput is chosen as a correction act, and that happens everywhere. Based on data, the number of abstainers is increasing, including in Indonesia.”

Read: Civil Society Coalition: Being 'Golput' is Not Against Law

According to Arief, people generally decided to not casting a ballot as their protest upon the implementation of democracy. Because, despite the name of democracy, there were many human rights violation occurred, he added, “besides, citizens' rights are not fulfilled, and corruption remains rampant.”

Arief mentioned that based on the democracy index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit or EIU, the figure dropped from 48 to 68 for Indonesia in 2018.

“That is a drastic decline, and the reason is based on the study that the public is dissatisfied by the current democratic system,” he noted.

In the 2014 election, Indonesian people felt a new hope, but for the past four years, in fact, the country’s democracy index dropped.

“As a result, hopes are lessened because many are pessimistic in the 2019 election that carrying out the same candidate as in the 2014 election,” Arief remarked.

ANTARA