Democracy Becoming Increasingly Mature

The implementation of the 2018 regional elections shows that people, in general, are becoming increasingly mature and smart in choosing. This is a good sign for the practice of democracy in Indonesia.

KOMPAS/ELSA EMIRIA LEBA

Portraits of the 2018 regional elections candidates decorate pillars at the Kompas Quick Count Control Center in Jakarta, photographed on Wednesday (27/6/2018). Staff of the Kompas research and development division performed quick counts of the 2018 provincial elections in West Java, Central Java and East Java.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Voting in the 2018 simultaneous regional elections on Wednesday (27/06/2018) indicated that local democracy in Indonesia is maturing. This became evident after the polls had closed, when the situation was relatively calm and results in a number of regions indicated that voters are increasingly taking into account the capabilities and track record of candidates rather than other aspects, such as political and kinship affiliations of candidates.

Some hiccups did occur in the 2018 regional elections. Two of the 171 regions holding elections were unable to run the regent elections due to security concerns, namely the regencies of Nduga and Paniai in Papua, where the General Elections Commission (KPU) will reschedule voting.

Some disturbance hampered voting in a number of places, but not on a massive scale. In Morowali, Central Sulawesi, for example, flooding disrupted voting at around 10 polling stations.

As for the results, a number of surprises occurred. The quick count suggests that the incumbent, Agung Syahri Mulyo, won in the regional election in Tulungagung, East Java, despite being currently detained by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as a suspect in a corruption case related to infrastructure projects in his region.

At the same time, one of the 16 candidate pairs contesting the regional elections this time, namely that of Munafri Arifuddin and Andi Rahmatika Dewi, was defeated by ballot sheets which were left empty in the elections in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Meanwhile, preliminary results suggest that Nurdin Abdullah, who has won praise from a number of parties for his achievements in leading Bantaeng regency, was in the lead in the South Sulawesi gubernatorial election. On the other hand, a number of candidates who enjoy close relationships with incumbent leaders lost in several regions, such as in South Sumatra, West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan.

With regard to this situation, the senior researcher of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Syamsuddin Haris, said, "Our voters are getting smarter, using common sense and becoming more autonomous in their choice."

This, Haris said when contacted from Jakarta on Wednesday, was a good omen for democracy in Indonesia.

Those characteristics of voters in regional elections mean political parties need to present presidential candidates, vice presidential candidates and candidates for the House of Representatives that have both the necessary capacity and a good track record in the 2019 general elections.

Similar conclusions were drawn by Aditya Perdana, the executive director of the Center for Political Studies at the University of Indonesia. According to him, there are indications that voters are beginning to think seriously in choosing candidates and be independent in their choice. People in several regions were beginning to choose leaders who they believed had the required potential.

Saiful Mujani Research Consulting Program director Sirojudin Abbas believes that the 2018 regional elections reflect improving political literacy on the part of voters. The end of political dynasties in a number of regions indicates that the public is determined not to get trapped into voting for candidates from political dynasties. "This is a good first step, which needs to be improved on with good political education among the voting community," he said.

Voter data

The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) has still detected a few technical problems in the implementation of the regional elections, such as missing ballots and alleged money politics. According to Bawaslu member M Afifuddin, some voters were registered on the voters list more than once. This could be due to problems of matching and researching.

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo asked the election organizers to pay close attention to the issue of voter lists. He made the remark, because he found himself still listed as a voter of Polling Station 10 in Mlatiharjo Village, East Semarang district, Semarang, where he had not been living for three years. "It seems the KPU is still using voter data from the 2014 election," he said.

In connection with this, a researcher of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Fadli Ramadhanil, said if there were still a lot of notes in the 2018 regional elections, the KPU had to try harder to improve the voters lists. Risks associated with voter data had to be mitigated ahead of the 2019 general elections, he urged.

Responding to this, KPU member Pramono Ubaid said the KPU underlined the importance of improving population data first.

Despite a number of problems, the government stated that the 2018 regional elections took place without any significant security disturbances.

(GAL/APA/AGE/KRN/WHO/RWN/NIK/WER/SEM/RTG/WSI/NSA/DIT/REN/SAN/IAN/MHD)