Author(s): Muhammad Anwar Tanjung, Retno Saraswati, Lita Tyesta ALW
Democratization has developed rapidly and has become a general standard in the international political order. For some who experience a period of democratic transition, the democratic general election adopted can lead to increased political capacity, civic institutions and the distribution of people's welfare. On the other hand, democracy also has the opportunity to encourage the fragmentation and strengthening of primordialism, economic concentration and social inequality. This study seeks to investigate the legal order and the adoption of international measures in elections in democratic transitional countries, by taking the case in Indonesia. This country has been democratized since the last two decades and made it the third largest democracy in the world. By using a qualitative method with a socio-legal approach and descriptive analytical analysis, the results of the study show that the institutionalization of elections in transitional democratic countries can encourage economic equality and create good governance as a principle of democratic governance. On the contrary, the administration of undemocratic elections has an impact on poverty, oligarchic politics, and corruption, as well as violence and social conflict. From the aspect of international standards, Indonesia has actively implemented measures of transparency and accountability in the holding of elections, by forming independent institutions and commissions to organize and oversee the implementation of elections.