The large number of recommendations for re-voting (PSU) is one of the most prominent phenomena in the 2024 General Election in Aceh. Overall, Panwaslih recommended 32 re-votings throughout Aceh, although in its development not all of them were carried out by the Independent Election Commission (KIP) due to various considerations, including the limitations of ballot papers. In several areas, PSU recommendations have been reduced to a recount of votes.
The increase in the number of PSUs compared to previous elections can be seen from various angles. First, this proves that there were problems in voting and counting votes. Panwaslih indicated that procedures had been violated, whether intentionally or not.
Maybe the voting public can tolerate mistakes caused by the organizers not understanding or not being careful. Usually, solving problems caused by negligence can also be done quickly and easily after finding the root of the problem, but not with errors caused by fraud by organizers, whether designed themselves or in collaboration with election participants.
Second, the flood of PSU recommendations can also be interpreted as Panwaslih's success in supervising voting. In supervising each stage, Panwaslih focuses on prevention rather than action. Preventive efforts are made to minimize or even eliminate the impact of violations of statutory regulations.
Panwaslih must ensure that no party is harmed at any stage of the election, especially since violations in voting and counting votes are the worst crimes in elections because they damage the conversion of votes into seats (Totok Hariyono, 2023). Panwaslih must prevent every attempt to defeat the winners and win over the losers through cheating.
Why PSUs?
However, not all PSUs are related to election fraud or violations. Article 372 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections states that re-voting at the TPS should be repeated if a disaster and/or riot occurs which results in the voting results not being able to be used or the vote count being unable to be used. This means that legally PSU is possible even if there is no fraud at the voting stage.
Apart from natural disasters and riots, re-voting is carried out because the opening of ballot boxes and/or voting files and counting are not carried out according to the procedures stipulated in the rules. This norm opens up wider opportunities for PSUs in all stages of collection and calculation which are sometimes very technical in the field. Sometimes, these cases require deeper study because the events at the TPS are not directly connected to the phrases in the legislation.
Another cause of PSU is because Voting Organizing Group (KPPS) officers ask voters to provide a special mark, sign, or write their name or address on the ballot paper used. This unlawful act is carried out with a specific purpose, either to serve as proof that voters have voted for a particular candidate, or for other purposes. In essence, the confidentiality aspect which is the main principle of elections has been tarnished.
In another case, the PSU was held because KPPS damaged more than one ballot paper used by voters so that the ballot papers were invalid. Finally, voters who do not have an electronic identity card and whose names are not included in the permanent voter list and additional voter list. This case was also the reason why the PSU was implemented in the 2019 elections in Aceh.
Looking at several PSU recommendations in Aceh in the 2024 elections, it was found that many voters exercised their right to vote more than once. Apart from having to carry out re-voting, the act of voting more than once is an election crime. The perpetrator can be sentenced to prison for a maximum of 18 months and a fine of up to IDR 18 million.
Election unclean
Even though there are criminal threats, there are still KPPS officers who look for opportunities to exercise their right to vote twice. There are cases that then escape the attention of polling station supervisors and are only discovered after the votes have been counted. In the case at TPS number 13 in Kampung Jawa Lhokseumawe, the number of valid and invalid ballots exceeded the number of voters who exercised their right to vote.
Worse yet, the number of ballot papers used is not the same for all types of elections. For example, at TPS 13 there were 217 voters who used their right to vote at the TPS, but there were 255 valid and invalid ballots for presidential/vice presidential candidates. This proves that KPPS officers do not really understand the rules so their fraud is easily proven. They do not understand or are not aware that the number of valid and invalid votes is the same as the number of voters who exercise their right to vote.
The level of voter participation in PSU is not always the same as voters in the normal schedule. Usually lower, unless there is mobilization of election participants. Meanwhile, voters who are on the additional voter list (DPTb) and special voter list (DPK) may no longer exercise their right to vote due to work reasons and are no longer at the TPS location.
The existence of the PSU means they can no longer exercise their right to vote, because the PSU is not necessarily held on holidays. For election participants who received pure votes and were able to get seats even with temporary data, the implementation of PSU is clearly a big loss. This is why in several districts/cities in Aceh, there are parties that refuse and even force Panwaslih to cancel the PSU.
The actions of KPPS officers which resulted in many recommendations for re-voting eroded public confidence in the implementation of the 2024 elections. KPPS officers, as organizers who are at the forefront of holding clean, honest and fair elections, actually polluted them by using their right to vote more than once. In urban areas with a high level of participatory supervision, there are still attempts to rig elections in a sadistic way. You can imagine what the situation is like in a number of remote polling stations with lower levels of supervision.
This violation did not occur by itself without the cooperation of election participants who were aware from the start of the large role of KPPS in gaining votes by dirty means. Election participants recommend adhoc organizers ranging from KPPS, village voting committees (PPS), to sub-district election committees (PPK) to make it easier to manipulate vote results. By mastering the organizational structure starting from the polling station level, they can design and hide fraud, even though the election system has been designed to be open with an accessible level of public participation.
Even though the PSU is not able to save all aspects, its implementation provides an opportunity for tighter supervision and prevents fraud that pollutes democracy.[]
