Jakarta, 17 January 2022 – Ahead of the 2024 General Election, BOI Research has developed a Voting Advice Application to help (young) voters understand their political preferences.
Debates about democracy in Indonesia are often accompanied by concerns about the low level of public participation in elections. Voters in Indonesia often face a dilemma of unclear platforms and programs of political parties that make it difficult for voters to make an informed choice. With the upcoming 2024 General Election, BOI Research sees this democratic event as a responsibility to help the public discover the information needed to make their choice.
Young voters are expected to hold a third of the total registered voters in the 2024 general election. In both the electoral process and public participation, young people play a central role in Indonesian democracy. In addition to having a great political voice, young people will become policymakers in the future. BOI Research views this as an urgency for political education to ensure that young people are actively involved in overseeing and being involved in the journey of Indonesian democracy.
That’s why Kawula17 is here. Kawula17 is a Voting Advice Application (VAA) or an online application/platform that informs users to understand better their political choices on the current political and social issues and the stance of political parties on these issues. The VAA Kawula17 is free and accessible to everyone without exception. This is to ensure that all Indonesian citizens can have access to this for political education.
In Kawula17, the user will determine his position in each of the given statements. These statements are based on issues/policies currently being discussed by the public, the house of representatives, and the government. Through these choices, Kawula17 will match the user’s answers and see how close these compare with Indonesian political parties’ current attitude. Kawula17 seeks to help voters understand their political preferences and choices, especially young people. In 2024, Kawula17 hopes that (young) voters will be able to choose based on reasons and be better able to monitor the running of the then newly elected government.
Last October, Kawula17 launched a pilot survey among students. This pilot survey aims to understand the relevance of the issues available at VAA Kawula17 to the needs and attitudes of these students. The enthusiasm of young people makes BOI Research even more convinced that discussion platforms and political education platforms are needed today, more so than ever before. 291 responses were collected, spread across at least 14 universities in Indonesia. An in-depth analysis of Kawula17 pilot survey is available on the Kawula17 website.
Contact Person: Maria Angelica Christy Aka (Angel), researcher at BOI Research