Dahlan, Rahmawati Syam
Participatory oversight is an important pillar in maintaining the integrity of democratic elections. In indigenous areas such as Biak Numfor Regency, Papua, participatory oversight faces unique socio -cultural dynamics, where indigenous value systems, social structures, and traditional power relations play a major role in determining the effectiveness of community participation. This study aims to analyze the structural and cultural challenges in implementing participatory supervision of general elections in the indigenous communities of Biak Numfor Regency, Papua. A qualitative approach was used through in -depth interviews with indigenous leaders, election supervisors, and local communities, as well as analysis of institutional documents to understand the so cial and institutional context of supervision. The results show that participatory oversight in indigenous areas faces two main challenges. Structurally, the absence of formal regulations governing the role of indigenous communities, weak synergy between oversight institutions and traditional social structures, and institutional capacity gaps are major obstacles. Culturally, kinship relations between traditional leaders and political candidates, the dominance of social loyalty over the principle of neutrality, and the absence of written norms cause oversight to lose its moral independence. In addition, the shift in traditional values due to the development of the times and technology has weakened moral authority and deepened the crisis of social legitimacy o f participatory oversight. This study contributes to the development of an adaptive election oversight model for indigenous communities and encourages the formulation of institutional strengthening policies based on local wisdom to reinforce democratic integrity in the indigenous regions of Papua. © 2026 Rotherham Academic Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
Department of Public Administration, Institut Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik YAPIS Biak, Papua, Indonesia; Department of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
