Singaraja– Millennials have a very strategic role in making democratic development successful in the current modern era. Technological developments and the current era of disruption have enabled this nation’s next generation to take on and play out their function as pillars of the nation, especially by actively and creatively utilizing various technological facilities in the world of politics. This was conveyed by Undiksha Academician, Prof. Dr. I Wayan Lasmawan, M.Pd as a resource person at the National Seminar held by the Department of Law and Citizenship, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences (FHIS) Undiksha, Saturday (5/10/2019). This seminar, which was opened to the public, also presented a resource person from DPD RI member Dr. Made Mangku Pastika, M.M., and Constitutional Court Judge Dr. I Dewa Gede Palguna, S.H., M.Hum.
Lasmawan explained that millennials could be a trigger for the development of quality democracy if they were willing and managed in nature and its dimensions by the state system and instruments as a medium of democracy. This is evident from the role of millennial voters in the recent elections, whose number is close to 40 percent of the total citizens who exercised their right to vote. This means that there are almost 70 million millennial voters who have exercised their state rights in this big democratic party. “The increase in voter participation in the last election, which almost reached 81 percent, proves that Indonesia is one of the large democratic countries whose level of consolidation has experienced a sharp increase. This cannot be separated from the role of young voters. “For this reason, in the current technological era, young voters are a segment that must be managed in such a way, by entering their world when prospective election participants want to gain the trust of these voters,” he explained.
It was further stated that by prioritizing mediation and managing political talent as well as the inclusion of technology in political communication, millennials must continue to increase democratic literacy so that they can play their role as media-savvy, responsive, creative, and advocate voters. “If this can be done, then the democratic movement that we are, through cooperation elections, can certainly be realized,” he stressed.
Making democracy a reality is a matter of ours, said the academic who is also the Deputy Chancellor for Planning and Human Resources at Undiksha, one of which must be supported by holding quality elections that meet at least five conditions, namely opening up competitive opportunities for every participant widely, held regularly. with rules of game that guarantee certainty, and inclusiveness by placing every citizen equally in all its dimensions, carried out by independent and accountable organizers, and its implementation is fair and legal.
The party system adopted and implemented in Indonesia so far is also considered to still not guarantee the implementation of genuine democracy. Elections as a facility for elite circulation, both between one elite and another, as well as the change from a lower elite class to a higher elite class, have not been well patterned, because political parties prioritize the development of mass parties which have the characteristics of increasing activity only. ahead of the election, adheres to a very loose membership system, does not have an adequate membership selection and recruitment system, and has not developed a strong cadre system and political leadership. “For this reason, a breakthrough is needed in the mechanics of building a party system at the sub-structural level, so that it will strengthen political parties at the grassroots level, central level, and in government,” this former UNUD student activist in 1991 said.
If this can be done, the institutionalization of political parties will be better and will directly affect the quality of the meaning of democracy itself. This academic who is a former political consultant added that party institutionalization can be done by strengthening four key components, namely party rooting, party legitimacy, rules and regulations, and party competitiveness.
In the study of politics, general elections can be said to be a political activity where general elections are an institution as well as a political practice that allows the formation of a strong government because elections have fulfilled their obligation, namely producing the best and chosen people who will represent the people’s representation powerfully. This is related to the meaning attached to the election itself as an ideal and maximum portrait of a democratic government in the modern era. “Elections in their constellation as the embodiment of democracy, have several functions, namely as a means of political legitimacy, through elections the government can influence people’s behavior, as a facilitator for the development of the people’s political contract with their government, and as a means of assessing the people towards the authorities they have trusted for the past five years. gone,” he said.
In the view of this academic from Bonyoh Village, Kintamani, Bangli, democratic consolidation is not enough just to have elections carried out procedurally, but is more determined by how institutionalized the democratic commitment is to the parties and representative councils that result. “For this reason, the quality of elections is largely determined by how much people participate in the elections themselves, as well as how capable the people as owners of sovereignty are in supervising the implementation of the elections themselves,” he said.
If this can be done, then at a minimum it will ensure that the constitutional rights of citizens are guaranteed in terms of ensuring that the political rights of citizens are protected, ensuring that elections are clean, transparent, and with integrity, encouraging the realization of elections as an instrument for determining political leadership and evaluating political leadership, encouraging the emergence of political leadership that is in line with the greatest aspirations of the people, and finally the fulfillment of the aspirations of the people completely and comprehensively.
In the future, to build a democracy that can guarantee the parameters of the people’s selfhood as owners of sovereignty, Lasmawan, who is also the Chair of the Forum of Deputy Chancellors for HR for PTNs throughout Indonesia, emphasized the need to simplify the party system and reduce the political costs that must be spent at every election celebration. On the other hand, to improve the quality of the election itself, it is important to carry out the election movement in a spirit of cooperation. “So that every citizen feels and makes the election their own so that they do not solely rely on procedural-mechanistic systems and regulations,” he concluded. (rls)
