January 7, 2025
jakarta – Starting in 2025, Southeast Asia is at a critical juncture. The region’s development trajectory reflects a delicate balance between deep-seated challenges and an enduring desire for democracy, human rights and justice.
Indonesia's 2024 election reflects the promises and dangers of democracy in the digital age. The peaceful transfer of power reaffirmed Indonesia's commitment to democratic principles, but the pervasive influence of disinformation exposed the fragility of the electoral process.
Manipulative propaganda dilutes public discourse and shifts focus away from meaningful debate on governance and human rights. This highlights the urgent need for strong fact-checking mechanisms and media literacy initiatives to safeguard informed democratic participation.
Encouragingly, the role of divisive identity politics that marred Indonesia's 2014 and 2019 elections has diminished in 2024. Sexual messaging.
This shift has been driven by the participation of young people, who make up more than 56% of the electorate. Their digital literacy and skepticism of misinformation underscore the transformative power of an informed and engaged voter base.
By contrast, Thailand's elections highlighted the ongoing struggle for democracy amid entrenched military influence. Despite the public's desire for reform, constitutional constraints and limited freedoms inhibited progress. Thailand's electoral framework, set by the 2017 constitution implemented by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) junta, is entrenched in systemic imbalances.
The Kadima Party (MFP) won 151 parliamentary seats on a progressive platform but faced insurmountable resistance from military-appointed senators and lawmakers aligned with the previous regime. The party's proposal to amend the Royal Defamation Act (Section 112) is seen as a threat to the monarchy, triggering legal challenges that endanger the monarchy's existence.
These developments expose the structural barriers that continue to hinder Thailand’s democratic aspirations and highlight the urgent need for constitutional and institutional reform.
These elections illustrate an important fact: Democracy in Southeast Asia survives but remains dangerously fragile. The experiences of Indonesia and Thailand highlight the need for decisive reforms to protect democratic institutions from digital manipulation, entrenched authoritarian legacies and systemic barriers to participation.
Disinformation emerges as one of the most significant challenges in 2024, reshaping the electoral landscape and threatening the integrity of democracy across the region. The proliferation of artificial intelligence has amplified the spread of deepfakes and propaganda, taking advantage of the high penetration of social media in Southeast Asia.
Governments and electoral institutions are largely unprepared to deal with these evolving threats, leaving electoral processes vulnerable to distortions. Political violence and institutional weaknesses further undermined the credibility of the election. Candidates, voters and civil society actors often face intimidation, limiting their ability to participate freely.
Due to its limited independence and limited resources, the Election Commission has difficulty ensuring fair and transparent elections. At the same time, systemic barriers continue to marginalize women, minorities, and other vulnerable groups, perpetuating inequalities in political representation and participation.
Addressing these widespread challenges requires coordinated and comprehensive action. Governments, civil society and regional organizations must prioritize strengthening institutional frameworks, abolishing exclusionary practices and improving digital and media literacy. These measures are critical to ensuring that elections truly reflect the will of diverse populations and preserve the region’s democratic integrity.
Beyond electoral politics, the region's democratic space continued to shrink in 2024 due to restrictive laws and targeted attacks on activists, journalists, and civil society groups. These actions undermine public trust, undermine accountability and weaken governance.
Parliamentarians must stand up as defenders of these spaces and advocate for reforms that protect fundamental freedoms and ensure inclusive, resilient democratic processes. As elected representatives, they have the unique ability to amplify marginalized voices, rebuild public trust, and advocate for legislative change.
The region will face a decisive test in 2025, with key elections in Cambodia and the Philippines and the military junta in Myanmar planning to hold elections. Restrictive laws and a crackdown on opposition figures have exacerbated Cambodia's democratic deficit, while Myanmar's military junta continues its brutal crackdown on dissent, displacing millions and committing serious human rights abuses. The continued failure to achieve meaningful progress on ASEAN's five-point consensus highlights the limits of the grouping in resolving these crises.
Malaysia's assumption of the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025 provides an important opportunity to recalibrate ASEAN's approach to regional crises. ASEAN must impose real consequences for the Myanmar military junta’s non-compliance, engage with legitimate stakeholders, and prioritize humanitarian assistance through trusted community-based organizations.
Wider systemic issues that threaten democratic resilience must also be addressed. Southeast Asia's rapid economic growth, while impressive, often comes at the expense of human rights and environmental sustainability. Governments must implement strong labor protections, hold companies accountable for supply chain abuses, and design equitable policies that benefit marginalized communities while protecting natural resources.
The urgency of climate action cannot be overstated. Typhoons, droughts and rising sea levels in 2024 disproportionately impact marginalized communities, highlighting the interconnectedness of environmental and human rights challenges. ASEAN must adopt a rights-based climate adaptation strategy that ensures affected communities are at the center of decision-making.
As we enter 2025, the lessons of 2024 are a powerful reminder that progress is possible when principled leadership is combined with collective determination.
Democracies thrive on freedoms, respect for human rights and the integrity of regular elections; principles that must guide the region's commitment to greater governance and accountability. Realizing this vision requires the active participation of all stakeholders, including governments, parliamentarians, civil society and citizens.
These collective efforts are critical to building an inclusive and cohesive ASEAN community that celebrates and respects the rich political, social, religious, cultural and ethnic diversity of the region.
Now is the time to seize this moment, rise to the occasion and shape a future where democracy is not just an aspiration but a reality for everyone in Southeast Asia.
We hope that these principles and aspirations will feature prominently in the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, scheduled to be adopted in mid-2025.
The author is the Executive Director of the Association of ASEAN Members on Human Rights (APHR) and the Indonesian representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights 2019-2024.
