Journal of Government and Civil Society

Articles

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2026): Journal of Government and Civil Society (April)

Bawaslu's Strategies for Preventing and Addressing Electoral Violations in the 2024 Election in Sinjai Regency

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31000/49qfca15
Submitted
23 February 2026
Published
30 April 2026

Abstract

This study examines the strategies employed by the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) in preventing and addressing electoral violations during the 2024 Election in Sinjai Regency, Indonesia. The research focuses on assessing the effectiveness of these strategies in relation to local institutional constraints and socio-political dynamics. A qualitative approach was applied through in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, field observations, and analysis of official documents. The findings indicate that electoral violations are predominantly committed by bureaucratic actors, particularly civil servants (ASN), accounting for approximately 70% of cases, mainly involving breaches of neutrality. Preventive strategies including voter education, participatory monitoring, and electoral socialization have contributed to increasing public awareness and expanding oversight networks. However, their effectiveness remains limited, as reflected in three key indicators: low public reporting participation, weak follow-up consistency on reported cases, and limited deterrent effects of sanctions. Furthermore, enforcement practices tend to be administrative rather than punitive, with only a small proportion of cases meeting criminal thresholds. This enforcement asymmetry reduces the overall deterrence capacity of the supervisory system.This study contributes to the literature on electoral governance by demonstrating that, in decentralized contexts, the effectiveness of electoral oversight is shaped not only by institutional design but also by bureaucratic behavior, local political structures, and enforcement capacity. Strengthening crosssector collaboration, improving technical capacity, and adopting data-driven oversight mechanisms are therefore essential to enhance electoral integrity at the local level. 

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis strategi yang digunakan oleh Badan Pengawas Pemilihan Umum (Bawaslu) dalam mencegah dan menangani pelanggaran pemilu pada Pemilu Tahun 2024 di Kabupaten Sinjai, Indonesia. Fokus penelitian ini adalah menilai efektivitas strategi tersebut dalam konteks keterbatasan kelembagaan dan dinamika sosial-politik lokal. Pendekatan kualitatif digunakan melalui wawancara mendalam dengan informan kunci, observasi lapangan, serta analisis dokumen resmi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pelanggaran pemilu didominasi oleh aktor birokrasi, khususnya Aparatur Sipil Negara (ASN), yang mencakup sekitar 70% dari total kasus dan sebagian besar berkaitan dengan pelanggaran netralitas. Strategi pencegahan berupa pendidikan pemilih, pengawasan partisipatif, dan sosialisasi kepemiluan berkontribusi dalam meningkatkan kesadaran publik serta memperluas jejaring pengawasan. Namun demikian, efektivitasnya masih terbatas, yang tercermin dari rendahnya partisipasi pelaporan masyarakat, belum konsistennya tindak lanjut terhadap laporan pelanggaran, serta lemahnya efek jera dari sanksi yang diberikan. Selain itu, praktik penegakan hukum cenderung bersifat administratif dibandingkan represif, dengan hanya Sebagian kecil kasus yang memenuhi unsur tindak pidana. Ketimpangan dalam penegakan ini mengurangi daya cegah sistem pengawasan pemilu secara keseluruhan. Penelitian ini berkontribusi pada pengembangan kajian tata Kelola pemilu dengan menunjukkan bahwa dalam konteks desentralisasi, efektivitas pengawasan pemilu tidak hanya ditentukan oleh desain kelembagaan, tetapi juga oleh perilaku birokrasi, struktur politik lokal, serta kapasitas penegakan hukum. Oleh karena itu, penguatan kolaborasi lintas aktor, peningkatan kapasitas teknis, dan penerapan mekanisme pengawasan berbasis data menjadi langkah strategis untuk meningkatkan integritas pemilu di tingkat lokal.

References

  1. Anindiati, A. (2024). Bawaslu Sinjai Handles 10 Cases of Alleged Local Election Violations. Rri.Co.Id. https://www.rri.co.id/pilkada-2024/1126067/bawaslu-sinjai-tangani-10-kasus-dugaan-pelanggaran-pilkada
  2. Aspinall, E., Fossati, D., Muhtadi, B., & Warburton, E. (2020). Elites, Masses, and Democratic Decline in Indonesia. Democratization, 27(4), 505–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2019.1680971
  3. Aspinall, E., & Mietzner, M. (2019). Indonesia’s Democratic Paradox: Competitive Elections amidst Rising Illiberalism. Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/00074918.2019.1690412
  4. Aspinall, E., & Sukmajati, M. (2016). Electoral Dynamics in Indonesia: Money Politics, Patronage and Clientelism at the Grassroots. NUS Press. JSTOR. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1xxzz2
  5. Bawaslu Sinjai. (2025). Bawaslu Sinjai Regency Holds an Institutional Evaluation Meeting to Review Subdistrict Election Supervisors’ Performance During the Local Election. Sinjai.Bawaslu.Go.Id. https://sinjai.bawaslu.go.id/berita/evaluasi-kinerja-panwaslu-kecamatan-selama-pilkada-bawaslu-kabupaten-sinjai-laksanakan-rapat?utm_source=chatgpt.com
  6. Birch, S. (2023). The electoral benefits of environmental position-taking: Floods and electoral outcomes in England 2010–2019. European Journal of Political Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12522
  7. Birch, S., & Muchlinski, D. (2018). Electoral violence prevention: what works? Democratization. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2017.1365841
  8. Chalfin, A., & McCrary, J. (2017). Criminal deterrence: A review of the literature. In Journal of Economic Literature. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20141147
  9. Cresswell, J. W. (2017). Research Design (Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches). In Sage Publication (Vol. 2017, Issue 150). https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20234
  10. d’Udekem, B. (2021). Agency Conflicts and Dividend Persistence. Journal of Financial Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10693-021-00348-x
  11. Darmawan, I. M. D. H. (2024). The High Cost of Politics in Indonesia: An Exploration of Multi-perspectives from Academics, Students, Executive Officials, and Legislative Candidates. Besturkunde: Journal of Governmental Studies, 4(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.53013/bestuurskunde.4.2.115-127
  12. Diprose, R., McRae, D., & Hadiz, V. R. (2019). Two Decades of Reformasi in Indonesia: Its Illiberal Turn. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 49(5), 691–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2019.1637922
  13. Grindle, M. S. (2012). Jobs for the Boys: Patronage and the State in Comparative Perspective. Harvard University Press.
  14. Intani, A. (2023). Analysis of the Closed Proportional Implementation Plan in the 2024 Election. Indonesian Journal of Advanced Research. https://doi.org/10.55927/ijar.v2i3.3454
  15. Izhar, M. (2024). Not Impotent: Bawaslu Sinjai Handles 10 Election Violation Cases in the Regional Head Elections, Involving Village Heads to Regional Government Officials. Suarajelata.Com.
  16. Lawrence Neuman. (2021). Research Methods in Communication Research. E-Journal of Media and Society (e-JOMS).
  17. Mariana, D., & Husin, L. H. (2017). Democracy, local election, and political dynasty in Indonesian politics. Jurnal Wacana Politik. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v2i2.13998
  18. Mietzner, M. (2011). Book Review: Localising Power in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia: A Southeast Asia Perspective. South East Asia Research. https://doi.org/10.5367/sear.2011.0065
  19. Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. SAGE Publications Inc. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=p0wXBAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=id#v=onepage&q&f=false
  20. Mochtar, Z. A., & Afkar, K. (2022). President’s Power, Transition, and Good Governance. Bestuur. https://doi.org/10.20961/bestuur.v10i1.59098
  21. Nagin, D. S. (2013). Deterrence in the Twenty- First Century. Chicago Journals, 42(1), 199–263. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1086/670398
  22. Nasution, S. R., Bernike, L., & Johan, M. (2022). Strategy of the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) in Preventing Violations in the 2019 General Election (Election). JOELS: Journal of Election and Leadership. https://doi.org/10.31849/joels.v1i2.11161
  23. Norris, P. (2012). Why electoral integrity matters. In Why Electoral Integrity Matters. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107280861
  24. Norris, P. (2014). Theories Why Electoral Integrity Matters. In Why Electoral Integrity Matters. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781107280861.003
  25. Soderborg, S., & Muhtadi, B. (2021). Resentment and Polarization in Indonesia. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3873291