Bawaslu: Election regulations must be adaptive to digitalisation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Puadi, a member of Indonesia’s General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), has said that electoral regulations must be refined so that they are adaptive to technological developments and digitalisation.

“How can we formulate regulatory changes that adapt to technological and digital developments? This is very important because the stages of elections are becoming increasingly complex, including forms of administrative violations,” said Puadi whilst opening a public discussion titled “Finding the Formulation for the Implementation of Supervisory and Adjudicatory Functions in Strengthening Electoral Supervisory Institutions” at the Bawaslu building in Jakarta on Thursday.

He assessed that technological developments present new challenges in electoral administration, so regulatory designs need to be prepared to anticipate such dynamics, including in the handling of administrative violations.

He said the refinement of regulations is one of the strategic issues discussed by Bawaslu together with Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR RI), academics, and election activists as part of efforts to strengthen the institution ahead of the 2029 general elections.

Beyond adaptation to technological developments, the forum also discussed institutional strengthening to guarantee the independence, impartiality, and objectivity of Bawaslu in carrying out its duties.

According to Puadi, Bawaslu is also pushing for stronger legitimacy of its rulings so that they not only carry legal force but also gain public trust.

“Every strengthening of authority is always accompanied by stronger accountability, transparency, and professionalism, including highly capable human resources,” he said.

Puadi emphasised that strengthening Bawaslu is not merely about enlarging the institution’s authority, but about improving the quality of democracy through increasingly sound electoral administration mechanisms.

“I am convinced that strengthening Bawaslu is not merely about enlarging our institution’s authority, but about how to strengthen the quality of democracy we aspire to. The better the administration mechanism, the greater the public’s trust in the election results themselves,” he said.