*This article is originally published in the Asia Pacific Policy Observatory May 2024 Report.
Background
Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, held its general elections on February 14, 2024. The eligible voter(s) in Indonesia election(s) can use their right(s) to vote for the President, Vice-President, the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) at provincial and municipal level, and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD). The election(s) in Indonesia are conducted by the General Elections Commission (KPU) and supervised by the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu). Besides, the Honorary Council of Election Organizers (DKPP), which maintains fair and peaceful competition to ensure that the process remains legitimate and trustworthy in tandem with the General Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) and the General Election Commission (KPU). There were three candidate pairs contesting for the position of the President and Vice-President as determined by the KPU, namely:
- H. Anies Rasyid Baswedan, Ph.D. (Anies) represented the Coalition of Change for Unity and Dr. (H.C.) H. A. Muhaimin Iskandar (Muhaimin)
- H. Prabowo Subianto (Prabowo) represented the Advanced Indonesia Coalition and Gibran Rakabuming Raka (Gibran) and
- Ganjar Pranowo, S.H., M.I.P. (Ganjar) represented the PDI-P-led alliance and Prof. Dr. Moh. Mahfud MD, S.H., S.U., M.I.P (Mahfud).
According to the Article 6A(3) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, any ticket of candidates for the President and Vice-President which polls a vote of more than fifty percent of the total number of votes during the general election and in addition polls at least twenty percent of the votes in more than half of the total number of provinces in Indonesia shall be declared elected as the President and Vice-President.
The election for members of the DPR uses an open proportional system where voters can choose their preferred political party and its candidates. The allocation of seats for members of the DPR only includes political parties that obtain parliamentary votes (parliamentary threshold) of at least 4% of the number of valid votes nationally to be included in determining seats for members of the DPR. However, all political parties participating in the election are included in determining the seats for DPRD members at the provincial and municipal levels. Therefore, even if a political party does not meet the 4% vote threshold requirement nationally, that party still has the opportunity to get seats in the DPRD at the provincial and municipal levels.The election of DPD members uses a single non-transferable vote system, where voters cast one vote in a multi-member electoral district, and the candidates with the highest total votes will fill the position.
The KPU carried out vote recapitulation from February 15 to March 20, 2024. Data shows Prabowo-Gibran’s dominance by outperforming 34 provinces. Anies-Muhaimin dominates in 2 provinces, while Ganjar-Mahfud still needs to get the most votes in any province. Based on the recapitulation results, the Prabowo-Gibran candidate pair won the 2024 election with 58.6% of total valid votes in the first round. Prabowo, Gibran and the new cabinet will be inaugurated on October 20, 2024.
Anticipated Impact on Digital Policy
This section analyzes the anticipated impact of the digital policy under Prabowo-Gibran based on the campaigns they have carried out, vision and mission, the Presidential and Vice-Presidential debates held by the KPU, statements from the candidate pairs, track record of parties that pass the parliamentary threshold and other supporting sources.
The Use of AI and TikTok Platform as Campaign Media
Based on data from the recapitulation of the final voter list, voters in the 2024 election(s) are dominated by Generation Z and millennial groups. These two generations dominate the 2024 election voters, consisting 56.45% of the total voters. The Prabowo-Gibran pair is famous for its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for campaign and personal branding, which was fortified by volunteers who joined the Prabowo-Gibran Digital Team (PRIDE). PRIDE volunteers launched the first political AI in Indonesia, namely prabowogibran.ai, to support the digital campaign for Prabowo-Gibran pair. The launch and briefing of digital-based and AI political volunteers was attended by over 600 and 5,000 on-site and online volunteers respectively, mostly Generation Z and millennials, as recorded in the Indonesian World Record Museum (MURI). Besides, the Prabowo-Gibran National Campaign Team (TKN) also launched the AI website Fotober2.AI at the TKN Prabowo-Gibran Media Center, Jakarta, as a new way to support the Prabowo-Gibran pair. The TKN Prabowo-Gibran Digital Media Coordinator said that the launch of the website was an innovative way to reach young voters in this digital age.
During the campaign period, Prabowo built his personal branding as gemoy. “Gemoy” does not have a proper translation in English, but it is associated with adorable or cute expressions and chubby. His new image gemoy seems successful in gaining supporters while veiling his previous acts related to serious human rights violations. The gemoy image is also supported by their campaign identity color (light blue), the song used, and the dancing performed by Prabowo himself. This has become attached to Prabowo’s identity and sensationalise among the young population coupled with the massive use of Prabowo’s campaign songs on the TikTok application.
Prabowo’s running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka (Gibran), is the son of incumbent President Joko Widodo, who is currently serving as a mayor of Solo, Central Java. His personal brand focused on the symbol of the youth representative as he participated in the election when he was 36 years old. The announcement of Gibran as Prabowo’s Vice-President drew praise and criticism. The commendation includes having a young people representation to accommodate their needs and requirements whereas the criticism emerged in the form of a ruling of the constitutional court, declared by Jokowi’s brother-in-law, lowering the age limit for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential for contesting election(s). The timing of ruling is a bone of contention which was announced near the final deadline for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidate registration. Political observers assess that this Constitutional Court’s ruling lowering the age limit has the potential to abuse the authority, thereby hijacking the democratic system, and the threat to the rise of dynastic politics.
Consequent to the ruling, it is pivotal to amend the requisite code governing the election(s) to reflect the applicable laws of the land, However, the DPKK decision indicates otherwise which allege that the KPU has violated the code of ethics. The said decision was based on the fact that the nomination of Gibran was accepted for contesting the Vice-President election without amending the code of ethics. Further, the Civil Society Coalition for Clean Elections stated that the DKPP decision also shows that the KPU, as the election organizer, contributed greatly to nepotism and dynastic politics carried out by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
In the political context, based on the Freedom of Net 2023 report issued by the Freedom House, AI advances offer exciting and beneficial uses threatening global internet freedom. The report further states that Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) supercharges disinformation, especially during the campaign period. As the AI is already widely used for campaigns to distribute content, automated “bot” accounts on social media have actively silenced and spread false narratives about election fraud to voters, while platform algorithms have promoted unreliable information. This time, while Prabowo-Gibran makes the most of AI and social media, it’s too early to say, under Prabowo’s leadership, it is compatible with some form of digital authoritarianism. The danger is if we only look at disinformation as foreign computational propaganda and fake news, we risk missing out on new forms of information distortion. Prabowo’s character, in reality, is neither cute nor chubby, and his new image by no means represents the truth.
However, whether the government will use AI technology as part of government digitalisation has yet to be discovered. As we are aware, the Indonesian government is currently aggressively digitizing several bureaucratic services. Nevertheless, digitalization in Indonesia only focuses on providing application infrastructure and needs to be balanced with personal data protection and adequate security. There were a lot of data leaks in government data applications, and many Indonesian government websites experienced defacement, and websites mirroring links to online gambling sites. It remains to be seen whether, or how, these malicious cyber activities would be addressed by the incoming government.
Overview of Digital Governance Debates During Election(s)
According to the Law 7/2017 on General Elections, there will be three debates for the Presidential candidates and two debates for the Vice-presidential candidates. The debates will be broadcasted by public frequency broadcasting institutions, both on television and radio. These five debates, conducted by the KPU, were held between the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. Such debates includes gamut of issues such as digital policy and digital governance, sustainability, information technology, among others. In the third debate, there was a question about how cyber technology, artificial intelligence, and satellites can strengthen Indonesia’s defense:
“Pertahanan negara yang tangguh dapat dicapai dengan memanfaatkan teknologi siber, kecerdasan buatan, dan satelit untuk informasi geospasial, pertanyaannya, apa kebijakan paslon untuk mendapatkan akses teknologi dan pengembangannya guna memperkuat pertahanan Indonesia?”
Prabowo believes that human resources can be strengthened in the field of cyber defense. A BRIN Political Research Center researcher, Sarah Nuraini Siregar, said the three presidential candidates only spoke at a high level without addressing the central issues concerning Indonesian cyber security, such as protecting proprietary, citizen, and Indonesian data as a part of the defense element. Nothing concrete has been said by the three presidential candidates.
Free Meal vs. Free Internet
In the fifth and last debate, Prabowo Subianto reiterated the envisioned priority on “free meal” over “free internet” as he fended off criticisms by another presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo. . The IDR460 trillion (USD29 billion) “Free Meals” program would provide free lunch to over 78 million students and free milk to 4.4 million expectant mothers across Indonesia, while Pranowo’s “Free Internet” program focuses on providing free internet for students and micro, small, and medium-size enterprises. As Ganjar called out Prabowo for labeling people who desire free Internet as “a slow thinker”, Prabowo refuted by emphasizing that securing meals was more important and urgent than Internet connectivity. While Prabowo acknowledged the benefits of free Internet for accelerating digitalization and solving inequality problems, such a prioritization and the statements made during Prabowo’s campaign might offer a glimpse on policy focus of the incoming Prabowo-Gibran government when it comes to social welfare and socio-economic development.
Overview of Digital Governance Issues in Prabowo-Gibran Vision and Mission
The challenges of digital disruption are mentioned in the Prabowo-Gibran vision and mission document. The explanation states that the rapid advancement of AI could transform talent needs in almost all industries aligning with rapidly increasing workforce capabilities. Besides, the document pointed out ways to strengthen democracy by restoring and guaranteeing the freedom of association with responsibility and integrity in communicating the interests of society to realise a healthy democratic life.
There are certain other aspects, such as digital innovation for the agricultural sector (digital farming), digitalisation of micro/small/medium enterprises (UMKM), development of alternative financing systems for UMKM through financial digitalisation, encouraging education that assist in enhancing digital literacy at various levels of education to build a digital culture, guaranteeing the right of association/union for online motorcycle taxi drivers and online taxis, and close all access to online gambling sites.
On February 10, 2024, the Press Council held a Declaration of Press Independence for the Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates; in which the candidate pair Prabowo and Gibran were represented by their success team whereas the other two Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates were present at the press declaration. The Press and Election Advocacy Coalition also expressed concerns that Prabowo-Gibran’s mission purporting to restore and guarantee responsible freedom of the press is vague, which fails to address the society’s current problems, and is vulnerable to bringing the press under the control of solid power.
AI has indeed been officially used by Prabowo-Gibran supporters. So, it is unsurprising that coalition parties also use AI for campaigning. One of the cadres of the Prabowo-Gibran coalition party, namely the Deputy General Chair of the Golkar Party, uploaded a video created by AI that brings to life the figure and voice of the late dictator Suharto (Indonesia’s Second President and founder of the Golkar party, who controlled the reign of Indonesia for 32 years). The uploaded video, simulating Suharto in a yellow batik figure, urges voters to vote for legislative candidates from the Golkar Party which further sparked debates relating to use of technology in political campaigns.
AI and social media were used in the 2024 elections and both GenAI and predictive AI are expected to be adopted and will likely be used again in the Pilkada (regional head elections) scheduled in November 2024. On the other hand, the use of AI as a Prabowo-Gibran campaign strategy has sparked protests from artists, especially illustrators. To combat the use of AI images, many illustrators volunteered to give their artwork to support Prabowo-Gibran counterparts, as they purchased some of the artwork. Currently, illustrators in Indonesia are workers in an unconventional sector. Before the 2024 election campaign, many illustrators in Indonesia were still struggling to earn a decent income, and the public still took them lightly, as a result many were paid very low. The use of AI in campaigns further narrows the market for illustrators. Many AI imaging services use GenAI for sale on e-commerce at very cheap prices. Many people who are still unaware, buy them due to reasonable prices and convenience in delivery. Given these successes, alongside social media, GenAI and predictive AI are expected to be adopted again in the Pilkada (regional head elections) scheduled to be held in November 2024.
Emerging Digital Policies Discussions in Indonesia
There are currently no hard laws governing the use of AI in Indonesia. The efforts to regulate AI have been carried out by several Indonesian government agencies, as follows:
- Law 11 of 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT Law) and derivative regulations regulate AI as “electronic agent” terminology.
- In 2020, the Indonesian government released the National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Indonesia (Stranas KA) which contains AI ethics and policies, AI talent development, the data ecosystem and AI development infrastructure.
- In 2021, the Ministry of Communication and Informatics (MOCI) Number 3 of 2021 regulates licensing aspects for business actors utilizing AI.
- Law No. 27 of 2022 on Personal Data Protection regulates the use of AI relating to processing of personal data.
- In 2023, (MOCI) issued MOCI Circular Letter No. 9 of 2023, dated December 19, 2023, regarding the Artificial Intelligence Code of Ethics (“MOCI CL 9/2023”).
- Financial Services Authority (OJK) appointed the Indonesian Financial Technology Association (AFTECH) together with other industry associations namely AFSI, AFPI and ALUDI to prepare and establish a Responsible and Trustworthy Code of Ethics for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Financial Technology Industry which was launched in early December 2023.
During the election period, AI was not only used as an enabler but also as a deterrent for spreading disinformation by different candidates contesting elections. In December 2023, video footage of erstwhile President Joko Widodo addressing a gathering in Mandarin was circulated which used deepfake, later flagged off by the MOCI. As previously mentioned, deepfake were extensively used for endorsing parties during the election. In a nutshell, the efforts to regulate AI in Indonesia are still not comprehensive and non-binding. Since, the new cabinet is yet to be appointed, the impact of AI can be deciphered from the Prabowo-Gibran vision and mission document which used the word artificial intelligence only once reflecting the commitment of the existing government to regulate AI. The Golkar Party, one of the Prabowo-Gibran coalition parties, passed the parliamentary threshold with the second-highest vote acquisition also for endorsing deepfakes. These instances are important to monitor and review the government’s seriousness in regulating AI that promotes democratic and human rights values.
Law 11 of 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (EIT Law) is Indonesia’s first law to regulate cyber aspects. This law has been in effect for approximately 16 years and has undergone two amendments. The latest amendment or second revision was signed on January 2, 2024 by President Joko Widodo. The Civil Society Coalition for Advocacy of the EIT Law (Koalisi Serius) revealed that the revision of the EIT Law still contains problematic articles such as defamation and attacks on reputation, hate speech, false information, and termination of access. These problematic articles will prolong the threat to the public’s access to information and the right to freedom of expression in Indonesia. The EIT Law in Indonesia is one such example which showcases how laws are being misused to restrict freedom of expression and press freedom. As it was passed in 2008 and undergone amendment in 2016, the EIT Law has criminalised human rights defenders (HRD), journalists, women who are victims of sexual violence, and citizens who express legitimate criticism.
During the election, Prabowo mentioned multiple times his intention to further continue Jokowi’s program, if elected as the President. Amnesty International Indonesia pointed out, during the tenure of the erstwhile President from 2019 to 2022, at least 332 victims were charged with allegedly violating Articles 27(1) and (3) and Article 28(2) of the EIT Law. Prabowo-Gibran’s commitment to guaranteeing freedom of expression is in dilution due to its absence in the press freedom declaration. This could further worsen the freedom of expression as Jokowi during his tenure did not guarantee freedom of expression. Civil society must monitor and demand Prabowo-Gibran to implement the commitments written in the vision and mission document.
Currently, Indonesia’s mobile landscape relies heavily on 4G networks, providing the backbone for Internet access for most of the citizens. The 5G rollout has just begun, with limited availability concentrated in selected areas. The success of Indonesia’s 6G journey will depend on overcoming current limitations with 5G and strategically investing in research and development for the next generation of mobile technology. With the Ministry of Communications and Informatics commitment to adopt 6G by 2030, it would take the center stage with different ecosystem players sharing their views. Further, there are certain reports which indicate the government’s willingness to provide the Internet with faster speed with its broader applications; however critics argue that the government should first fully focus on fully utilizing the existing networks such as 5G.
Conclusion and Way Forward
To reflect on the 2024 Indonesian election and its implications on digital policies, it is evident that the innovative campaign strategies of the Prabowo-Gibran, leveraging AI and social media platforms, have resonated with Indonesia’s youthful electorate. However, as the new administration prepares to take office, the challenge lies in translating campaign rhetoric into effective digital policies. Key issues such as cybersecurity, data privacy, and governance transparency require careful navigation to ensure that digital advancements benefit all Indonesians.
Moving forward, inclusive governance and collaboration with diverse stakeholders will be paramount in shaping a digital policy framework that fosters innovation while safeguarding democratic principles and citizens’ rights in the digital sphere. The 2024 election thus marks not only a political transition but also a critical juncture in Indonesia’s digital evolution, demanding visionary leadership and concerted efforts to navigate the complexities of the digital age for the nation’s collective progress and prosperity.
Written by Zahra Nur Aliya and Harisa Shahid (Edited by Sameer Gahlot)