The Seminar on the 2024 General Election was held by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, on March 15, 2024, from 10:00 to 12:00 Japan time. This special seminar aimed to discuss the general election that concluded on February 14, 2024. Based on the quick count results from several survey agencies in Indonesia, the Prabowo-Gibran pair is estimated to have won the positions of president and vice president.

This event featured three speakers: Wahyu Prasetyawan (Faculty of Da'wah and Communication Sciences, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah), Luky Djani (Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, UPN Veteran Jakarta), and Okamoto Masaaki (CSEAS, Kyoto University). Wahyu Prasetyawan presented a paper titled "Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election: Coalitions, Networks, and Democracy." The paper depicted that the competition for the presidential position is actually still determined by both old and new figures forming coalitions. Although the coalitions and networks may appear different, the old and new figures are actually well acquainted with each other and have previously been in the same coalition, albeit now the coalition has changed. This demonstrates that the presidential election is still largely influenced by the preferences of the elite rather than the voices of the people. The participation of the community, which is an essential requirement for democracy, is disregarded.

Luky Djani presented a paper titled "When Artificial Intelligence Meets Artificial Democracy: Preliminary Insights from the 2024 Indonesia Election." The core of his presentation was the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the legislative election process in various places in Indonesia. He described that in the 2024 Legislative Election, AI has been widely used by political consultants to assist candidates vying for seats. These candidates are aided by AI designed to assist their persona in campaigns based on their personalities and determine campaign narratives based on available target and demographic data.

Okamoto Masaaki presented a paper titled "Power of Visual Social Media and Youth in the 2024 Presidential Election in Indonesia." He outlined that the role of visual-based social media (rather than text-based) dominated the 2024 presidential election. According to the data he provided, all three candidates utilized TikTok as a campaign medium. Okamoto highlighted that the use of TikTok gave rise to a phenomenon known as "politainment," which is a combination of political information and entertainment. However, he emphasized that the campaign's utilization of visual social media has yet to address real issues in people's lives.

The three speakers agreed that democracy in Indonesia is currently facing significant challenges and has experienced a rather serious setback. Seminar participants came from several campuses or research institutions around Kyoto. Some participants also came from Tokyo and Nagoya.