Semarang, December 11, 2025 – The Department of Politics and Government Science at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Diponegoro University, in collaboration with the Election Supervisory Board of the Republic of Indonesia (Bawaslu RI), held a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) entitled “Evaluation of the Governance of Election Supervisory Organizations: Institutional Transformation of Bawaslu Towards the Revision of the Election Law: Challenges and Hopes.” This event aimed to bring together academics, election practitioners, and stakeholders to provide strategic input on the direction of Bawaslu’s institutional reform ahead of the upcoming revision discussion of the Election Law.

The event began with the singing of the national anthem Indonesia Raya, the Bawaslu March, and the Undip March, followed by a prayer led by Ustad Muhammad Ridwan. The first speech was delivered by a member of Bawaslu RI, who is also Coordinator for the Human Resources, Organization, and Education and Training Division, Dr. Herwyn J.H. Malonda, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the institutional capacity of election supervisors, including improving duties, authorities, organizational structure, and human resource capacity to address increasingly complex electoral challenges. The second speech was given by the Dean of FISIP UNDIP, Dr. Teguh Yuwono, M.Pol.Admin, highlighting the strategic role of universities in promoting evaluation and improvement of election governance based on academic studies. After the speeches, the event continued with the exchange of souvenirs between Bawaslu RI, FISIP UNDIP, and the Department of Politics and Government Science at FISIP UNDIP as a symbol of commitment to collaboration in strengthening electoral democracy. Bawaslu RI presented mangosteen tree seedlings, which symbolize honesty and integrity, and donated nine books authored by Dr. Herwyn J.H. Malonda as contributions to the Bawaslu Corner Library at the FISIP Undip Campus.

The event continued with an introduction to the theme by Dr. Nur Hidayat Sardini, Chair of the Department of Politics and Government Science at FISIP UNDIP and former Chair of Bawaslu RI, who elaborated on the challenges facing the election supervisory institutions, the urgency of revising the Election Law, and the need to modernize the supervisory system to keep pace with technological developments and contemporary political behaviors.

The first discussion session featured three panelists: Dr. Khairul Fahmi (Lecturer at Andalas University, Padang), who reviewed the evaluation of Bawaslu’s authority and scope of work; Warjio, Ph.D. (Executive Secretary of the USU Centre for Health Politics and Management (UCHPOLM), Medan), who discussed the structural evaluation of election supervisory bodies; and Dr. Ferry Daud M. Liando (Lecturer at Sam Ratulangi University, Manado), who highlighted efforts to enhance election supervisory capacity. This session was moderated by Dr. Phil. Wahid Abdurrahman, Head of the Government Science Study Program at FISIP UNDIP.

After the break for ISOMA, the FGD continued with the second session featuring four speakers: Prof. Dr. Aminuddin Kasim (Tadulako University, Palu), explained the quality of resolving administrative violations and disputes in the election process; Prof. Dr. Hartuti Purnaweni (Professor in the Department of Public Administration, FISIP UNDIP), who discussed strengthening the governance of election supervisory organizations; Dr. Kushandajani (Lecturer at the Department of Politics and Government Science, FISIP UNDIP), who explained the redefinition of Bawaslu’s role as a democratic institution; and Prof. Dr. Lita Tyesta ALW (Professor of the Faculty of Law, UNDIP), who reviewed the regulatory framework of the KPU, Bawaslu, and DKPP in the context of Election Law revision. The session was moderated by Bangkit Aditya Wiryawan, Ph.D., Secretary of the Government Science Study Program, FISIP UNDIP.

The FGD was closed by Dr. Herwyn J.H. Malonda, who summarized various strategic recommendations from all speakers and participants, including the need to harmonize electoral regulations, strengthen institutional and human resources capacities for election supervision, modernize technology-based supervisory systems, and reconstruct institutions to be adaptive to political and social changes. The event continued with the presentation of certificates to speakers and moderators, as well as the announcement of transport voucher exchanges for participants.

The event concluded with a group photo session, the presentation of certificates to all speakers, institutional leaders, and participants, and special souvenirs from Dr. Nur Hidayat Sardini to all speakers, moderators, and the master of ceremonies in the form of bamboo paintings created by coached MSMEs. This event was held as a symbol of a shared commitment to strengthening election governance and encouraging the development of substantive recommendations for the revision process of the Election Law.