THE IMPACT OF MANY VOTE-BUYING CASES IN ELECTIONS ON THE LEGAL CULTURE IN SOCIETY AND DECRIMINALIZATION POLICY IN INDONESIA

Abstract

Vote-buying has happened a lot in general elections in Indonesia. Indonesian criminal law already
regulates the prohibition of vote-buying and has been enforced, but the number of cases is increasing so the
consequences can be bad in society. However, it is not yet known what the adverse effects of vote-buying will
be on the results of the general election, and the legal code and policy of decriminalization. This article was
written using desk research by conducting a study on documents using the documentation study technique.
The contents of the document were then analyzed using content analysis techniques. This study obtained 2
findings as follows: vote-buying can have a negative impact on the results of the general election, including
the election of several unprofessional people, blocked people's political channels, elected candidates
committing criminal acts of corruption, a decrease in Indonesia's democracy index. The impact of vote-buying
on legal culture in society, among others, considers vote-buying as a normal activity that is not categorized as
a crime. Legislators can use the legal culture in the community as the basis for determining policies for
decriminalizing the crime of vote-buying in the Election Act and Regional Head Elections Act.