VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

April 17, 2019, is a historic day for the Indonesian people. As one of the largest democracies in the world, today Indonesia holds general elections. There are more than 190 million people who have the right to vote. The voting this time is special because it is carried out simultaneously at one time. Domestically, the elections for  president and  vice president, national and regional legislative council (DPR, DPRD) and Regional Representative Council (DPD) are only conducted in one day, April 17, 2019. As for more than 2 million Indonesian citizens overseas the voting  was implemented earlier. Enthusiasm was shown by these voters by queuing at Indonesian representative offices in each country. When compared to general elections in India that are still ongoing today, there are system and time differences. First, India holds general elections to elect legislators. A party that wins a majority in parliament will rule, either singly or in coalition. So there is no presidential election. Second, the time provided for elections is around 1 month, which is until next May. Both in Indonesia and India the problem is the distribution of election equipment, which is widespread even to areas that are quite isolated. Meanwhile, both in Indonesia and in India, the people do not only live in urban areas. The majority live in rural areas even in remote areas that are relatively difficult to reach. Not to discuss the differences in the two countries' systems, but the essence of general elections both in Indonesia and in India is constitutional distribution of citizens' rights. Giving the opportunity to the people to choose the best candidate for running  the country. The people determine who they choose and the party they support. They also have the right to reject candidates who perform poorly, or parties that ignore the expectations of the people. That is actually the essence of democracy. The people are in power even though it may be seen on the election day.