BandungBergerak.id – There are supposedly '17 million job opportunities' claimed the third presidential candidates banner (Ganjar Pranowo dan Mahfud MD), 'Easy for seeking a job,' said the second presidential candidates banner (Prabowo Subianto dan Gibran Rakabuming Raka), and 'Job employment is available,' stated the first presidential candidates banner (Anies Baswedan dan Muhaimin Iskandar).

These Presidential Election Campaign 2024’s banners full of their promises have spread throughout the Bandung region from the end of 2023 until the first year of 2024. Moreover, they reached the refugee camps during Sumedang earthquake last New Year's Eve. 

Selling promises that are followed by the legislative candidate banners either coming from City-based DPRD, Provincial-based DPR, DPR RI, or DPD RI that will be elected simultaneously in the Presidential Election 2024. Striving or the revision of the Job Creation Law (UU Cipta Kerja), free BPJS, cheap groceries, free milk and lunch, cheap electricity, cheap fuel and everything about cheap, easy, and free. However, the mechanism to realize those things is not clear.

All these political advertisements not only carelessly decorate the entire country but also overwhelm social media. Every advertisement is designed to more pop, typically young people’s preferences. For the sake of gaining the attention of 204.807.222 voters that enlisted on the Final Voter List (DPT). Female voters are the most contested, with 102.588 million, while male voters are 102.218 million.

As data from the General Elections Commission (KPU), Perludem, and IDN Research Institute shows, more than half of the national voters (52 per cent) in this year's election are young people. These three presidential candidates are targeted at 57.486 million Gen X voters, 68.822 Millennial voters, and 46.8 million Gen Z voters. Based on age, there are 63,953,031 voters aged between 17-30 years. Approximately 42,398,719 voters are between 31-40 years old. There are 98,448,775 voters above the age of 40.

The poverty number is targeted to decline by 4-5% according to the first presidential candidate in five years of their government. The second candidate has a target of reducing the poverty rate to below 6 per cent. The third presidential candidate set a target of 2.5 per cent plus extreme poverty to zero per cent by 2029. Based on data from the National Socio-Economic Survey (Survei Sosial Ekonomi Nasional) as of March 2023, the poverty rate in Indonesia is at 9.36 per cent or 25.9 million people are still below the poverty line.

These campaign’s accessories have a similar narration to the previous presidential election. Meanwhile, the disadvantaged impact of these regulations has already shown the result. Some of these include the application of the ITE Law (UU ITE) criminalizes many critical people with rubbery articles and the Job Creation Law (UU Cipta Kerja) which is more focused on investors or entrepreneurs than laborers.

Not to mention the corruption problems with all their dramas, environmental damage and land conversion on behalf of investment, and agrarian conflicts between the nation, investors, and the people. All the achievements and accomplishments now are the result of past political promises which tend to stray off the track.

The photos in this visual presentation are just illustrations of hope. Whoever is the winner of the election will not just shout during the campaign but close their eyes and ears when they win.

* Translated from this article by Salma Nur Fauziyah.