Buya Syafii, Mahfud MD Deem Golput Detrimental to Democracy
Translator
Dewi Elvia Muthiariny
Editor
Markus Wisnu Murti
Jumat, 25 Januari 2019 20:36 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta - Ahmad Syafii Maarif or Buya Syafii, a former chairman of the country’s second-largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, and Mahfud MD, a former Constitutional Court chief justice, encouraged the public not to abstain or become golput in the 2019 presidential election.
Being non-voters or golput, they reasoned, was detrimental to the pillars of democracy and would harm the legitimacy of the parliament and the executive.
“If we want to uphold a healthy democracy, don’t be golput,” said Buya Syafii after an international seminar in Yogyakarta, Friday, January 25.
Read: Expert: Crisis of Trust on Gov't Created Non-voters or Golput
Mahfud MD, meanwhile, deemed golput would be disadvantageous to would-be voters. “A leader must be elected whether they are willing to cast their ballots or not. From the electoral viewpoint, being golput will be to their disadvantage ,” he underlined.
He explained there was no law against golput, and that people should not be coerced into casting or not casting their ballots in an election. However, he added, being golput was disadvantageous in terms of political rationale.
“I call for all to not be golput because it is a gift of the constitution,” Mahfud MD concluded.
SHINTA MAHARANI (CONTRIBUTOR)
