Empowering Overseas Indonesian Citizens: Voter Education Training for First-Time Voters

Yordan Gunawan, Manuel Beltrán Genovés

Abstract


This discussion focused on the participation of first-time Indonesian voters abroad, particularly in Spain, in the 2024 general election. These voters hold great potential to shape the political and policy direction of their home country but face challenges such as limited access to information and a lack of understanding of domestic politics. To address these issues, a community service program was implemented to provide targeted political education, leverage technology and social media, and foster collaboration with local Indonesian communities. The program's methods included a series of online workshops, informative social media campaigns, and partnerships with local organizations to enhance political literacy. The results of the program demonstrated a significant improvement in voter knowledge and engagement, with a marked increase in voter registration and political awareness among first-time voters compared to pre-program levels. This effort aims to ensure that the voices of all Indonesian citizens, regardless of location, are heard and contribute to the democratic process, ultimately strengthening Indonesia's democracy.


Keywords


Overseas; Participation; Young voters

Full Text:

PDF

References


Amrizal, D., Yusriati, Y., Lubis, H., 2018. The Role of General Election Commission (KPU) in Increasing Voters’ Participation in Langkat, Medan, Indonesia. Bp. Int. Res. Crit. Inst.-J. BIRCI-J. 1, 13–24. https://doi.org/10.33258/birci.v1i2.9

Bennion, E.A., Laughlin, X.E., 2018. Best Practices in Civic Education: Lessons from the Journal of Political Science Education. J. Polit. Sci. Educ. 14, 287–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/15512169.2017.1399798

Böcü, G., Baser, B., 2024. Transnational Mobilization of Future Generations by Non-Democratic Home States: Turkey’s Diaspora Youth Between Empowerment and Co-optation. Ethnopolitics 23, 34–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2022.2101758

Boulianne, S., 2020. Twenty Years of Digital Media Effects on Civic and Political Participation. Commun. Res. 47, 947–966. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650218808186

Dandoy, R., Kernalegenn, T., 2021. Internet voting from abroad: exploring turnout in the 2014 French consular elections. Fr. Polit. 19, 421–439. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-021-00148-8

Erlina, E., Kariem, M.Q., Amaliatulwalidain, A., 2024. Participation of Beginner Voters in Political Education in the 2024 Election in Palembang City (Case Study of the Kesbangpol Agency of Palembang City). JISIP J. Ilmu Sos. Dan Pendidik. 8, 190–200. https://doi.org/10.58258/jisip.v8i1.6062

Fauzan, I., Arifin, A., Dalimunthe, M.A., Rahmadani, S., 2024. The configuration of ethnic and religious relations towards the 2024 general election: A case study in Medan, Indonesia. Multidiscip. Sci. J. 6, 2024006–2024006. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2024006

Fithor, A., Afrizal, T., 2022. The 2024 Indonesia Election Model: A Simplification of Election’s Paper. Int. J. Adv. Soc. Sci. Humanit. 1, 99–102. https://doi.org/10.56225/ijassh.v1i2.45

Galuh Larasati, Y., Fernando, H., Jubba, H., Abdullah, I., Darus, M.R., Iribaram, S., 2023. Past preferences informing future leaders for Indonesian 2024 general elections. Cogent Soc. Sci. 9, 2229110. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2229110

Harrison, S., 2023. Emergence of Democratic Frustration: The Case of First-Time Voters, in: Harrison, S. (Ed.), Pathologies of Democratic Frustration: Voters and Elections Between Desire and Dissatisfaction, Palgrave Studies in Political Psychology. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp. 149–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24235-9_6

Koc-Michalska, K., Lilleker, D.G., Surowiec, P., Baranowski, P., 2014. Poland’s 2011 Online Election Campaign: New Tools, New Professionalism, New Ways to Win Votes. J. Inf. Technol. Polit. 11, 186–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2014.899176

Lewis, D., 2017. Organising and Representing the Poor in a Clientelistic Democracy: the Decline of Radical NGOs in Bangladesh. J. Dev. Stud. 53, 1545–1567. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2017.1279732

Lin, J.-H., 2016. Differential gains in SNSs: effects of active vs. passive Facebook political participation on offline political participation and voting behavior among first-time and experienced voters. Asian J. Commun. 26, 278–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2016.1148184

Maber, E.J.T., 2016. Finding feminism, finding voice? Mobilising community education to build women’s participation in Myanmar’s political transition. Gend. Educ. 28, 416–430. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2016.1167175

Moeller, J., de Vreese, C., Esser, F., Kunz, R., 2014. Pathway to Political Participation: The Influence of Online and Offline News Media on Internal Efficacy and Turnout of First-Time Voters. Am. Behav. Sci. 58, 689–700. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764213515220

Mvukiyehe, E., Samii, C., 2017. Promoting Democracy in Fragile States: Field Experimental Evidence from Liberia. World Dev. 95, 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.014

Nasiruddin, N., Nuraliah, D., Mausili, D.R., Arsat, M., 2023. Perceptions of the People of South Sulawesi Regarding the 2024 Presidential General Election. J. Sci. Res. Educ. Technol. JSRET 2, 1719–1726. https://doi.org/10.58526/jsret.v2i4.288

Peltoniemi, J., Ciornei, I., Himmelroos, S., 2022. Editorial: Voting From Abroad. Front. Polit. Sci. 3.

Pons, V., Liegey, G., 2019. Increasing the Electoral Participation of Immigrants: Experimental Evidence from France. Econ. J. 129, 481–508. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecoj.12584

Regif, S.Y., Octafiani, A.C., Doloksaribu, A.T., 2024. Problems of the Campaign Period on the Level of Voter Participation in the 2024 Election in Medan City. J. Elections Polit. Parties 1, 47–55.

Ruslan, I., Irham, M.A., Halim, A., 2023. The 2024 Presidential Election: Contestation of Religious Ideology in Electoral Politics. KnE Soc. Sci. 392–406. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v8i16.14056

Saepudin, E.A., Zulfikar, M., Suryasuciramdan, A., Kamilah, F., 2023. Community and gen Z participation in the party democracy election 2024 towards Indonesia G2G good government to good governance. Int. J. Polit. Sociol. Res. 11, 161–167. https://doi.org/10.35335/ijopsor.v11i3.216

Scholte, J.A., 2014. Reinventing global democracy. Eur. J. Int. Relat. 20, 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066111436237

Sloam, J., 2014. New Voice, Less Equal: The Civic and Political Engagement of Young People in the United States and Europe. Comp. Polit. Stud. 47, 663–688. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414012453441

Tarrant, M.A., Rubin, D.L., Stoner, L., 2014. The Added Value of Study Abroad: Fostering a Global Citizenry. J. Stud. Int. Educ. 18, 141–161. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315313497589

Zorrilla-Velazquez, D., Ponce, B.A., García-Hernández, J., 2021. Political Transnationalism in Mexico: The Importance of Mexican Communities in the United States and the External Vote. Int. J. Interdiscip. Civ. Polit. Stud. 16, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0071/CGP/v16i01/1-15




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18196/berdikari.v12i2.21729

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

__________________________________________________________________

View My Stats

Contact us: BERDIKARI : Jurnal Inovasi dan Penerapan Ipteks, Address: Gedung D, LP3M UMY, Alamat: Jl. Brawijaya, Tamantirto, Kec. Kasihan, Bantul, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55183. Email: berdikari@umy.ac.id

  

Lisensi Creative Commons
Ciptaan disebarluaskan di bawah Lisensi Creative Commons Atribusi 4.0 Internasional.