JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blockchain technology is currently rising due to many parties' discussion, especially after discussion about NFT as one of blockchain products. In general, blockchain is a digital ledger that allows people to transfer data peer-to-peer, by distributing the database to multiple points without needing a single server. In short, "blockchain can be defined as a technology that allows data exchange to occur without the use of third parties in the transaction process," according to Pandu Sastrowardoyo as CEO of Decentralized Bio Network (DAOGenics, Ltd).

Nowadays, in Indonesia, blockchain is currently a hot topic of discussion in the media and the public because it has various benefits, one of which will be discussed in this article, namely blockchain-based elections. So, what is an election using blockchain technology? In fact, the idea of a blockchain-based election has not recently emerged to the general public, but has been widely discussed in Indonesia again.

The digitalization of this election process will specifically be made in the form of e-Voting. Later, if the e-Voting system is officially implemented on the national election, it will eliminate the necessity of a polling station ("TPS") and the special election team's role. The blockchain-based e-voting scheme also claimed to have many advantages, according to Dr. Andry Alamsyah, S.Si, M.Sc as honorary member of Indonesian Blockchain Association (Asosiasi Blockchain Indonesia/A-B-I), "This blockchain-based election idea is quite good because it can cut costs, where there is no need to print paper to conduct the elections, especially in today's society already very familiar with smartphones. So this blockchain-based election can make it easier for the public''. Andry also said "this e-Voting system can also be implemented immediately, especially since many are aware and looking towards it, but what needs to be considered is the readiness of the technique and development of blockchain-based electoral system itself".

Ir. Budi Rahardjo Msc., PhD as an IT practitioner and honorary member of A-B-I also shared his opinion about e-Voting that, "most people focus on cryptocurrency, we think that e-Voting is the perfect Blockchain implementation in Indonesia. Unfortunately, the digital gap is still a problem in Indonesia. So there will be a hybrid implementation, online and offline based". Budi also added, "This blockchain-based election is very safe, because blockchain uses multi-server recording and is decentralized, so all recording is not only done on one server, but all servers in a blockchain network. So if one server goes down, it will not affect the other servers or the data in them." Budi also said that the recording on the blockchain was carried out on all servers, not just one server. If you want to hack, hackers must hack at least 50% plus one of the total number of servers. So, if there are one million computers in a blockchain, hackers have to hack at least 500 thousand plus one computer to manipulate the data. "Where it is practically impossible to do. So it is very safe," said Budi.

However, can this e-Voting system be implemented immediately in the 2024 General Election? Asih Karnengsih as Chairwoman of A-B-I stated that "Indonesia needs to prepare proper remote election participation security, up to the speed of recording voting. For the initial stage, the infrastructure base for this 'blockchain election' will of course cost money". Asih said that "We must again look at the readiness of the organizers as well as us as voters, in terms of infrastructure, competent personnel are needed in building blockchain infrastructure that involves many stakeholders, then the costs must also be taken into account in the formation of this infrastructure. What's certain is that it is not cheap, but on the other hand in terms of costs for the voting and verification process it will be much cheaper".

Furthermore, Asih explained that Blockchain technology does not only function in creating e-Voting systems, NFT, or crypto that is currently being widely discussed by the general public, but blockchain has many other benefits, such in the Government Sector, apart from e-Voting that provides transparent and accessible mechanism to all Indonesian citizens, blockchain technology can also be the government's choice. For example, in improving the distribution of G2P (Government to Person) programs for the distribution of social assistance in Indonesia. In the Banking & Financial Industry, Blockchain technology can make cross-border transactions faster and cheaper and more secure because they are on the same network and do not require verification from third parties. In P2P, blockchain technology can be used to facilitate P2P lending to be more transparent, fast, and generally secure. In the Health Service Industry, Blockchain can also be implemented for the application of smart hospital systems, namely data integration between hospitals. In the Education Sector, blockchain technology can also be applied, to copyright a research so that it cannot be duplicated or plagiarized. Meanwhile, in the Supply Chain Industry, blockchain technology can also be used to track the movement and distribution of goods, where they come from, quantities and so on.