Generation Z's Political Participation in the Gorontalo Mayor and Deputy Mayor Elections in the 2024 Simultaneous Elections
Keywords:
Political Participation; Generation Z; Mayoral Election; 2024 Simultaneous Election.Abstract
This study addresses the phenomenon of declining voter turnout amid an increasing final voter list (DPT), which underscores a gap between the rising number of registered young voters and their actual engagement in local democracy. The study aims to analyze the forms and influencing factors of Generation Z's political participation in the 2024 Gorontalo Mayoral Election. Utilizing a qualitative descriptive approach in Gorontalo City, data were collected through interviews, observation, and documentation, with informants selected via purposive sampling. The findings indicate that Generation Z's political participation includes involvement in campaigns, political discussions, and voting; however, their engagement remains fluctuating and heavily reliant on social and environmental conditions. Key factors driving this participation include social media usage as a political information source, identification with parties or candidates, and the influence of family and social circles. In conclusion, Generation Z's political participation possesses distinct characteristics shaped by digital media, suggesting that adaptive political education and socialization strategies are highly required to enhance the quality of youth engagement in future local governance.
Downloads
References
Almond, G. A., & Verba, S. (1963). The civic culture: Political attitudes and democracy in five nations. Princeton University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt183pnr2
Faisal, N., Abdullah, T., Mulyadi, M., Abubakar, M. bin, & Muzaffarsyah, T. (2024). From Identity to Evaluation: Political Reorientation among Generation Z Voters in Post-Conflict Aceh. Indonesian Journal of Sociology of Religion (JSAI), 6(1). https://doi.org/10.22373/jsai.v6i1.7662
Ginting, G. E. B., & Personal, M. A. (2025). Generation Z's political perception on TikTok: An analysis of media ecological theory. Connection, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.24912/kn.v9i1.33286
Haryanto, H. (2016). The Rise of Party ID: An Analysis of Voting Behavior in Local Politics in Indonesia. Journal of Social and Political Sciences, 20(2), 89–102.
Marsuki, N. R., Oruh, S., & Agustang, A. (2022). Youth Apathy in Political Contest: A Case Study in the 2020 Gowa Regency Head Election. Journal of Ethics of Democracy, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.26618/jed.v7i1.6296
Resdiana, E., & Alfiyah, N. I. (2025). Gen-Z's Rational Choice in Influencing Political Participation in the 2024 Regional Elections. Sci. 3(02), 299–309.
Rube'i, M. A., Azwar, I., & Firmansyah, S. (2022). The role of the General Election Commission in carrying out the function of political socialization for novice voters in Pontianak City. Journal of Civic Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.31571/jpkn.v7i1.4856
Rush, Michael & Althoff, P. (2005). Introduction to Political Sociology. Raja Grafindo Persada. https://books.google.co.id/books/about/An_Introduction_to_Political_Sociology.html?id=QMILAQAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y
Satria, T., & Rahmawati, D. E. (2024). Social Media and Democracy in the Digital Era: "Desak Anies" Capturing the Hearts of Young People's Participation in Social Media. Journal of Political Discourse.
Tamma, S. (2021). Civic education and the formation of early political preferences of novice voters. Journal of Prophetic Politics, 9(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.24252/profetik.v9i1a3
Tinambunan, B. K. D. A., Setiawati, A. D., & Sanjaya, A. W. (2024). Socialization of political participation of novice voters in simultaneous general elections. Boyolali Smile, 5(2). https://ejournal.uby.ac.id/index.php/sb/article/view/1750
Verba, Sidney, N. H. N. (1972). Participation in America: Political Democracy and Social Equality. University of Chicago Press.
Wicaksono, A. T., Astuti, P., & Utomo, S. (2015). The Influence of Family, Peer Group and Mass Media towards Voting Behavior of FISIP UNDIP Students in the 2014 Presidential Election. Journal of Politics and Government Studies, 5(4). https://ejournal3.undip.ac.id/index.php/jpgs/article/view/9311
Yunus, A., Yakub, A., Tamma, S., & Ekawaty, D. (2020). Parents and political ethics formation of the first-time voters in City of Makassar. Journal of Political Discourse, 8(2). https://jurnal.unpad.ac.id/wacanapolitik/article/view/37863
Zainurin, S. J., Husin, W. N. W., Zainol, N. M., & Ismail, A. (2024). Peer Influence on Youth Political Behavior: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Social Science Research, 12(2).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Safrin Lamusrin, Udin Hamim, Ramli Mahmud
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
