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Moment of introspection: Indonesia and India’s democracies
Indonesia has slipped two spots in as many years in the EIU's Democracy Index, scoring lowest in political culture and civil liberties, which suggests that its educational institutions and government leaders should make concentrated efforts to improve political education and democratic lawmaking.
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Right to vote: A voter waits to cast a ballot in the presidential and legislative elections at a polling station in Kwamki Narama district, Mimika regency, Central Papua on Feb.14, 2024. (AFP/Adek Berry )
I
ndonesia stands proudly today as the third-largest democracy in the world after India and the United States. But it seems that this badge of honor may have a dent.
One can say that as we are still rowing along the wave of democracy, we take it for granted. The fact is that our democracy is slipping.
Indonesia's democracy ranking has been in the news for quite some time, especially after the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released its Democracy Index 2023. The report provided a glimpse into, or rather a wake-up call for, the country’s democracy.
Indonesia is still a flawed democracy and ranked 56th with a score of 6.53 in 2023, after stagnating at 6.71 in the two previous years. However, its ranking had slipped two spots from 52nd in 2021 to 54th in 2022.
Indonesia’s democracy ranking also slipped in another report from Freedom House that "rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries”. The country is categorized this year as partly free with a score of 57 out of 100, down from 58 in 2023 and 59 in 2022.
According to the EIU Democracy Index, India is faring much better than Indonesia. Currently ranked 41st, India’s ranking has improved from 46th in 2022.
These findings show there is much to contemplate. However, a question arises: How can we improve our democratic performance? Notably, because we believe in the form of government by the people and for the people, the word merdeka (independence) is the essence of Indonesian democracy.
