<![CDATA[This study examines participatory election monitoring by communities in the 2024 General Election in Lima Puluh Kota Regency. The study was motivated by the limited number of formal community reports despite the large number of voters and the existence of participatory monitoring programs implemented by Bawaslu. The research aims to analyze the level of community participation, the effectiveness of participatory monitoring, and the factors hindering its implementation. A descriptive qualitative approach was used. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 14 informants selected purposively from Bawaslu, KPU, Sentra Gakkumdu, election observers or activists, community leaders, and voters, supported by documentation and analyzed through data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing, with source and technique triangulation. The findings show that community participation remained limited: 290,865 voters were distributed across 637 polling stations, while only around three to four formal reports were received. Although the number of reports in 2024 was lower than in 2019, some 2024 reports had sufficient quality to be forwarded to law-enforcement proceedings. The main obstacles were institutional paradoxes, limited independent monitoring capacity, insufficient protection for reporters, complex reporting procedures, and low electoral literacy associated with the normalization of vote buying. The study concludes that participatory monitoring in Lima Puluh Kota remains between awareness of violations and the courage to act through independent reporting. The findings imply that strengthening community capacity, reporter protection, electoral literacy, and accessible reporting mechanisms is important for improving participatory monitoring. Keywords: Participatory Monitoring; General Election; Bawaslu; Community Participation.]]>
