INTEGRITY IN ELECTION AS A PILAR OF STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC CIVILIZATION: REKLECTION AND CHALLENGES IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT

Authors

  • Zakaria Efendi Universitas Gajah Mada
  • Meysella Al Firdha Hanim

Keywords:

election integrity, democracy, money politics, digital disinformation

Abstract

Electoral integrity is a fundamental pillar for strengthening democra- cy, especially in the context of Indonesia, which faces electoral political complexity. This study analyzes the reflections and challenges that arise in elections in Indonesia through three main dimensions: money politics and campaign finance transparency, digital disinformation and political polar- ization, and the institutional capacity of election organizers and law en- forcement agencies. This study uses qualitative methods with document analysis, using monitoring agency reports, online news, and academic lit- erature as units of analysis through thematic content analysis. The results of this study show that money politics is still common, campaign finance reporting is not yet transparent, and digital disinformation reinforces polit- ical polarization. In addition, the capacity of electoral management bodies and law enforcement agencies is limited due to resources, complex reg- ulations, and political intervention. This study recommends the need for a comprehensive strategy covering political funding transparency, digital literacy, platform regulation, and strengthening the capacity and indepen- dence of electoral institutions for a healthy and sustainable democracy

References

Ahmed, S. K., Moham- med, R. A., Nashwan, A. J., Ibra-

him, R. H., Abdalla, A. Q., M.

Ameen, B. M., & Khdhir, R. M. (2025). Using thematic analy- sis in qualitative research. Jour- nal of Medicine, Surgery, and Public Health, 6(April), 100198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.glme- di.2025.100198

Arora, S. D., Singh, G. P., Chakraborty, A., & Maity, M. (2022). Polarization and social media: A systematic review and research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tech- fore.2022.121942

Aspinall, E., Rohman, N., Hamdi, A. Z., Rubaidi, & Trianti- ni, Z. E. (2017). Vote buying in In- donesia: Candidate strategies, mar- ket logic and effectiveness. Journal of East Asian Studies. https://doi. org/10.1017/jea.2016.31

Berenschot, W. (2018). The Political Economy of Clien- telism: A Comparative Study of Indonesia’s Patronage Democra- cy. Comparative Political Studies, 51(12), 1563–1593. https://doi. org/10.1177/0010414018758756

Birnir, J. K., Okthariza, N., Agustyati, K. N., & Pratama, H. M. (2025). The Patriarchy in the Par- ties: Voters, parties and women’s electoral fortunes in the 2024 leg- islative election in Indonesia. Elec- toral Studies, 95(May), 102938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elect- stud.2025.102938

Boler, M., Gharib, H., Kweon, Y. J., Trigiani, A., & Per- ry, B. (2025). Promoting Mis/ Disinformation Literacy Among

Adults: A Scoping Review of Interventions and Recommen- dations. Communication Re- search, 1–33. https://doi. org/10.1177/00936502251318630

Caluwaerts, D., Bernaerts, K., Kesberg, R., Smets, L., & Spruyt, B. (2023). Deliberation and polarization: a multi-disciplinary review. In Frontiers in Political Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpos.2023.1127372

Cox, C. (2022). Dark

Money in Congressional House Elections. SSRN Electronic Jour- nal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ ssrn.4047686

Garnett, H. A., & James,

T. S. (2023). Electoral backslid- ing? Democratic divergence and trajectories in the quality of elec- tions worldwide. Electoral Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elect- stud.2023.102696

González, R., Mackenna, B., Scherman, A., & Joignant, A. (2024). Fairness beyond the ballot: A comparative analysis of failures of electoral integrity, perceptions of electoral fairness, and atti- tudes towards democracy across

countries. Electoral Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elect- stud.2023.102740

Guerrero-Sierra, Hugo,

Duque, Pedro, & Niño, César. (2024). Analysis of worldwide research on clientelism: Or- igins, evolution, and trends. Social Science Information, 63(3), 319–353. https://doio- rg/10.1177/05390184241268381

Higashijima, M., Kadoya, H., & Yanai, Y. (2024). The Dy- namics of Electoral Manipulation and Institutional Trust in Democ- racies: Election Timing, Blatant

Fraud, and the Legitima- cy of Governance. Public Opin- ion Quarterly, 88(SI), 472–494. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/ nfae022

Klasén, L., Fock, N., & Forchheimer, R. (2024). The invisible evidence: Digital fo- rensics as key to solving crimes in the digital age. Forensic Sci- ence International, 362(July). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsci- int.2024.112133

Lewandowsky, S., Ecker,

U. K. H., Cook, J., van der Linden, S., Roozenbeek, J., & Oreskes, N. (2023). Misinformation and the epistemic integrity of democracy. In Current Opinion in Psycholo- gy.

Lindberg, S. I., Lo Bue,

M. C., & Sen, K. (2022). Clien-

telism, corruption and the rule

of law. World Development. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.world- dev.2022.105989

Lundmark, S., Oscarsson, H., & Weissenbilder, M. (2020). Confidence in an election au- thority and satisfaction with de- mocracy: Evidence from a qua- si-natural experiment of a failed election in Sweden. Electoral Stud- ies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. electstud.2020.102216

Mace, S. (2025). Fragil- ity of democratic minimalism: why the ballot is insufficient for democracy. Frontiers in Politi- cal Science, 7(2020). https://doi. org/10.3389/fpos.2025.1493830

Madriaza, P., Hassan, G., Brouillette-Alarie, S., Mounchin- gam, A. N., Durocher-Corfa, L., Borokhovski, E., Pickup, D., & Paillé, S. (2025). Exposure to hate in online and traditional media: A systematic review and meta-analy- sis of the impact of this exposure on individuals and communities. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 21(1).

Marino, M., Iacono, R., & Mollerstrom, J. (2024). (Mis-) Perceptions, information, and political polarization: A survey and a systematic literature re- view. European Journal of Po-

litical Economy, 85, 102578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpole- co.2024.102578

Mietzner, M. (2010). Polit- ical conflict resolution and demo- cratic consolidation in Indonesia: The role of the constitutional court. Journal of East Asian Stud- ies. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S1598240800003672

Mont’Alverne, C., Ar- guedas, A. R., Banerjee, S., Toff, B., Fletcher, R., & Nielsen, R. K. (2024). The Electoral Misinfor- mation Nexus: How News Con- sumption, Platform Use, and Trust in News Influence Belief in Electoral Misinformation. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(SI), 681– 707. https://doi.org/10.1093/ poq/nfae019

Pennycook, G., & Rand, D.

G. (2019). Lazy, not biased: Suscep- tibility to partisan fake news is bet- ter explained by lack of reasoning than by motivated reasoning. Cog- nition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. cognition.2018.06.011

Sanna, G. A., & Lagna- do, D. (2025). Belief updating in the face of misinformation: The role of source reliability. Cog- nition, 258(February), 106090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogni- tion.2025.106090

Schnaudt, C. (2024). Per- ceptions of Electoral Integrity and Election-Related (Non-)Compli- ance: Evidence from Germany. Political Studies. https://doio- rg/10.1177/00323217241290584

Sharma, A. D. (2025). Political Finance and Patronage Behind Disinformation: Evidence From India’s Election Campaigns. Inter- national Journal of Communica- tion, 19, 2342–2360.

Tobin, C., Aronson, B., Ma- jumder, S., Tanenbaum, H., Weber, E., Carey, J. M., Fogarty, B., Ny- han, B., & Reifler, J. (2025). Losing predicts perceptions that elections were decided by fraud, but margin of loss and candidate race do not. Electoral Studies, 93(November 2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j. electstud.2024.102880

Triwardani, R. (2021). In- donesian officials and media fight vaccine hesitancy, misinformation. Asian Politics & Policy. https:// doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12608

Vasist, P. N., Chatterjee, D., & Krishnan, S. (2024). The Polarizing Impact of Political Dis- information and Hate Speech: A Cross-country Configural Narra- tive. Information Systems Fron- tiers.

Published

31-12-2025

How to Cite

Zakaria Efendi, & Meysella Al Firdha Hanim. (2025). INTEGRITY IN ELECTION AS A PILAR OF STRENGTHENING DEMOCRATIC CIVILIZATION: REKLECTION AND CHALLENGES IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT. Jurnal Etika Dan Pemilu, 11(1), 154–170. Retrieved from https://journal.dkpp.go.id/index.php/etikapemilu/article/view/307