The General Election Commission (KPU) RI chose UMSU as one of the universities to be visited to implement socialization and education of novice voters. Carrying the theme “Young People Build the Nation, Choose Cool,” the event was packaged through a talk show attended by hundreds of FISIP UMSU students on Wednesday (29/11) at the UMSU Auditorium, Muchtar Basri Street No.3 Medan.
Attended by the Chairperson of the North Sumatra KPU for the 2018-2019 Period Yulhasni, North Sumatra structural and functional officials, the Secretariat of the Indonesian KPU, and the leaders of the FISIP Faculty of the Muhammadiyah University of North Sumatra.
The activity was opened directly by the Head of the Voter Education Section of the KPU RI, Arif Ma’ruf, S.Ag., M.AP, represented by the Chairman of the North Sumatra KPU Agus Arifin. In his remarks, he expressed his gratitude to UMSU for being willing to be visited.
“We hope that UMSU students can come to the polling station on election day and do not abstain. Hopefully, the elections will run safely and produce the leaders the people hope for,” said Agus Arifin.
Furthermore, UMSU Rector Prof. Dr. Agussani, MAP, represented by WR I Prof. Dr. Arifin Gultom, M.Hum, appreciated the activities organized by the KPU and FISIP UMSU. He also gave a brief message to students to be wiser and more careful when facing elections.
“For students, maybe this is the first election, so it is necessary to listen to this socialization until it is finished. The main principle is honesty, fairness, freedom, and secrecy. We hope that young people will not be involved in legal issues,” said WR I.
He also invited participants to jointly oversee the running of the election so that it takes place orderly, fair, and dignified. I will also utilize and use voting rights as much as possible because one vote is precious for the nation.
Education for Beginner Voters
Arif Ramdhani Margolang, M.I.Kom hosted the talk show session with three speakers, namely the Dean of FISIP UMSU, Dr. Arifin Saleh, MSP, Kadiv Sosdiklih Parmas KPU Sumut Sitori Mendrofa and Executive Director of the Election and Democracy Syndication, Erik Kurniawan.
Dean of FISIP UMSU, Dr. Arifin, explained related to
‘The Participation of Generation Y & Z for the 2024 Election’. He said that Gen Z can play four roles to achieve clean and quality elections.
“Become a buzzer for better elections. This means that Gen Z can be a buzzer, but a positive one to voice and invite young people to contribute and vote,” said the Dean of FISIP.
He also said that Gen Z has not been contaminated by dirty politics so that it can become an agent of fair and quality elections and a focal point for the socialization of innovative elections.
Furthermore, Sitori Mendrofa gave students an understanding of Additional Voters. He urged students to check their online data on the Permanent Voters List (DPT).
“If students are already registered, but their domicile is not the current place of residence, H-30 Elections can process the Additional Voters List (DPTb) so that they can still exercise their voting rights,” said Satori.
Finally, Erik Kurniawan gave a view on ‘Strengthening Shared Responsibility, Initiating Programmatic Politics’. He explained that based on data, 52% of the younger generation are interested in political issues. According to him, this data is quite surprising.
“The interest of young people in politics is quite large, but unfortunately, there is not a single positive political diction that sticks in the mind,” said Erik.
According to his data, corruption is the diction that dominates political activity. So, novice voters must know politics is not limited to corruption but hopes, especially regarding the main issue, namely the economy.
This activity was also interspersed with entertainment, creative video challenges, and question-and-answer sessions from active and enthusiastic students.
