House Commission II Member: One Vote from Young Voters Can Determine the Nation's Future

JAKARTA — Rycko Menoza, a member of Commission II of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI), believes political education for first-time voters must be carried out continuously in order to improve the quality of democracy while producing a generation of responsible voters.

“Our hope through this continuous education is that the quality of future elections can be better, both from the side of the people who vote and the figures who are elected,” Rycko said in Bandarlampung on Saturday.

Rycko said that, as a partner in election administration, Commission II of the DPR views political socialisation to the public as having a strategic role, particularly for first-time voters who will exercise their right to vote for the first time.

According to him, political education must be able to instil the understanding that every vote carries significant meaning in determining the direction of regional and national development.

Rycko explained that Indonesia has implemented a direct democracy system since 2004. For this reason, he said, evaluations of election administration need to continue in order to improve the quality of democracy, both in terms of the public’s maturity in exercising their voting rights and the integrity of elected leaders.

He invited first-time voters, including Generation Z, to exercise their right to vote responsibly, because every vote will determine the future of economic development, infrastructure, and public welfare.

“The single vote they cast will have a great influence on the future of the region, the future of the province, and the future of the nation. We certainly do not want the growth and development of a region to slow simply because its leader betrays the mandate entrusted to them and becomes entangled in legal problems,” he said.

Rycko added that various policies with a direct impact on people’s lives, from fuel prices and the cost of basic necessities to infrastructure development, are the result of political decisions born through the democratic process.

According to him, the growing political awareness among young voters is an important factor in producing clean, accountable, and principled leaders capable of safeguarding the sustainability of regional and national development.