More Than Just an E-Voting Exhibition, Deputy Interior Minister Wiyagus Requests Election Simulation Facilities to Become Policy Hubs
Jakarta, VIVA – Deputy Interior Minister (Wamendagri) Akhmad Wiyagus has emphasised that the existence of digital election simulation facilities must not be limited to merely displaying E-Voting technology.
According to him, such facilities should develop into centres for knowledge development as well as the formulation of policy recommendations related to the governance of digital elections in Indonesia.
This was stated during the inauguration of the Digital Election Simulation Lab (DESLab) of the National Domestic Policy Strategy Agency (BSKDN) at the BSKDN Command Centre Room of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri), Jakarta, on Thursday, 7 May 2026.
“This means that the BSKDN DESLab must not only become a space to display E-Voting devices, but the BSKDN DESLab must become a space for producing knowledge and policy recommendations,” he said.
Through this facility, he hopes that discussions on digital-based election technology will not stop at the conceptual level but can be studied and tested directly. The laboratory enables government officials, academics, students, civil society organisations, and various stakeholders to simulate the entire E-Voting process comprehensively.
This process includes voter verification, the application of the one man one vote principle, vote counting, and audit mechanisms.
Wiyagus explained that Indonesia has actually had initial experience in implementing electronic voting. Based on data from PT Inti Konten Indonesia, the E-Voting system has been used in 1,910 villages across 16 provinces since 2013 without significant issues. This experience is considered an important asset for the Ministry of Home Affairs in mapping the benefits, challenges, and governance of broader E-Voting implementation.
In addition, Wiyagus mentioned that Indonesia needs to learn from the successes of countries like Brazil in accelerating vote recapitulation, Estonia with its internet voting system, and the United States which implements ballot audits. On the other hand, experiences from countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Norway also provide important lessons regarding challenges in system security and public trust.
“The experiences of these countries show that E-Voting is not merely about speed and efficiency, but must be supported by regulation, security, audits, voter literacy, and strong public trust,” Wiyagus stressed.
Wiyagus views the presence of DESLab as a strategic step for the Ministry of Home Affairs in facing the challenges of modern governance that are increasingly influenced by digitalisation issues, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. He hopes this facility can strengthen objectivity in examining policy risks and serve as a learning medium from the planning stage to implementation.