Competing not complementing: KPU, Bawaslu, and the dynamic of election monitoring in PEMILU 2019

ABSTRACT This paper examines the election monitoring in Indonesia with a specific focus on a unique element in Indonesian elections that is the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), an official institution established to observe and monitor the electoral process. Bawaslu had gained considerable juridical authority since 2017, granted by the election law, to not only monitor and provide recommendations, but also has the power to intervene with the electoral process and to judge any electoral offence. In the case of 2019 concurrent election, Bawaslu’s newfound authority had led to a constant conflict with the General Election Commission (KPU). It is also argued that Bawaslu’s existence is one of the causes that have led to the declining participation of local or international civil society in election monitoring in Indonesia. This research uses observational study to evaluate the 2019 concurrent election and interviews with KPU, Bawaslu, as well as local and international election monitoring NGOs in Indonesia. We argue that Bawaslu’s current role is not ideal in the context of Indonesian electoral system because the participation from civil society in election monitoring is still very much needed in democracy consolidation in Indonesia.