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More universities throw their weight behind calls for fair election
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Members of Padjadjaran University's Student Executive Council (BEM) deliver a speech at the university's campus in Bandung, West Java on Feb. 3, 2024. The university's professors, students and alumni urged President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo, state officials, presidential candidates and other members of the political elite to ensure a democratic and ethical 2024 election. (Antara/Raisan Al Farisi)
More universities throughout the country have lent their voices to calls for a fair and accountable general election, as concerns over state partisanship and democratic backsliding continued to gain traction in the week before voting day.
On Tuesday, lecturers and students from Malang-based Brawijaya University in East Java made a public declaration calling for fair presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 14.
Among their demands, as read out by lecturer Sukir Maryanto, were for the central government, regional administrations and the entire state apparatus to remain neutral, for the poll organizers and watchdogs to maintain their integrity, as well as for election contenders to campaign without using state resources.
“[We] are urging the government and law enforcement authorities to uphold the principles of justice and fairness and [to refrain from taking actions that could] undermine democracy and freedom of speech,” Sukir said in a press release.
Brawijaya University is only the latest university to publicly demand a fair, accountable election.
On Monday, several universities across Java, including Airlangga University and Surabaya State University in East Java’s provincial capital of Surabaya, as well as the Indonesian University of Education (UPI) in Bandung, West Java, also made similar pleas.
They were joined by several universities in Sumatra, including the University of North Sumatra and Malikussaleh University in Aceh, along with the academic senate of the University of Riau (Unri).
