Coordination efforts have been initiated to prevent foreign involvement in Indonesia’s 2024 general elections, particularly in expat-populated regions such as Karawang.
The Karawang Non-TPI Immigration Office convened a coordination meeting for the Foreigner Monitoring Team (Tim PORA) to enhance surveillance and prevent foreign nationals from participating in the 2024 Indonesian general elections. Tim PORA comprises representatives from Immigration, the Police, the National Army (TNI), the Prosecutor’s Office, the Population and Civil Registry Service, the Manpower Service, the Education Service, and other relevant agencies.
Andika Dwi Prasetya, Head of the West Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, emphasised that this supervision is conducted in line with regulations, which state that foreign citizens lack voting rights despite having the right to possess an identity card.
“As a rule, we are clear that foreign citizens do not have voting rights, even though, currently, they have the right to have an identity card,” Prasetya told the press on February 7th.
Karawang Regency is one example of a region that may require extra supervision. Ade Permana, Bawaslu Commissioner for Karawang Regency, pointed out that possessing an e-KTP does not grant a foreigner the right to vote in the 2024 elections. The primary requirement for voting, as stipulated in the regulations, is that the voter must be an Indonesian citizen. The e-KTP, meanwhile, indicates whether the cardholder’s status is foreign or not.
According to information provided by Petrus Teguh Arianto, Head of Karawang Immigration, there are 1,046 foreigners with residence permits in Karawang alone, and 623 individuals in Purwakarta Regency. The expatriates in Karawang and Purwakarta originate from China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Taiwan, with specific figures of 444 people, 297 people, 232 people, 199 people, and 68 people, respectively.
The 2024 Indonesian general elections are scheduled to be held on February 14th, 2024, with the purpose of electing the President, Vice President, and members of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), which comprises the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Senate (DPD), as well as members of local legislative bodies. The elected President and Vice President are to be sworn in on October 20th, 2024.