Phenomenon of Sole Election Candidate

KOMPAS/DIDIE SW

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Elections in 11 regencies and cities this year were contested by sole candidates. There are at least four factors behind this phenomenon.

First, political parties have failed to carry out one of their main duties, namely recruiting and nurturing potential leaders. Second, the candidacy process as regulated by the Election Law, which lacks openness and competitiveness. Party members are rarely involved in picking election candidates. Central board executives are often too domineering in the process, at the expense of regional executives.

Third, regional legislative council (DPRD) memberships across Indonesia are often fragmented in terms of party allegiance (in which legislative seats are relatively evenly distributed among 9-12 parties without any party holding a clear majority). Consequently, it is rare that any one party can fulfill the candidacy threshold on its own. Parties must form coalitions to get pass the threshold. Often times, parties are only willing to support certain candidates in return of a “political dowry” that can reach Rp 1 billion (US$69,540) per legislative seat.

Fourth, candidates can become the only election contestant (thereby ensuring a bigger chance of winning) by “buying” all other parties to prevent them from proposing other contestants. Law No. 10/2016 on regional elections includes two stipulations to act upon sole candidates.

First is imprisonment and fines, along with annulment of relevant candidates and a ban of proposing candidate in a subsequent election, to prevent political parties to hold financial or other transactions in exchange for political support in elections. Second is a ban for candidates to withdraw themselves from elections. However, the law has yet to include any stipulation to prevent the emergence of sole candidates during the election process.

The two legal stipulations in Law No. 10/2016 are also included in Law No. 7/2017 on general election. Article 229 Point (2) of Law No. 7/2017 includes two stipulations to prevent sole candidates in presidential election. The General Elections Commission (KPU) will reject candidate registration if (a) all parties contesting the election propose the same candidate and (b) several political parties form a coalition to back one candidate, thereby disabling other parties to back other candidates. In the current political context, the KPU will reject a candidate supported by nine political parties as the remaining one political parties will not be able to pass the candidacy threshold.

Who will be harmed by elections with sole candidates? There are at least two, namely voters and the nation-state’s quality. Article 1 Point (2) of the 1945 Constitution stipulates that: “Sovereignty is in the hands of the people and is carried out in accordance with the Constitution”. Articles 6A, 18 Point (1), 19 Point (1) and 22C Point (1) stipulate that the president, the vice president and members of the legislature are elected by the people through general elections. Article 18 Point (4) of Law No. 10/2016 reaffirms that governors, regents and mayors are directly elected by the people through elections. Voters vote for not only their leaders but also their public policy plans (based on their vision and mission statements and programs).

The principle of people’s sovereignty

Scientists using a minimalist approach formulate democracy as a “competition between election contestants in convincing voters to vote for them for public offices”. Democracy under such a minimalist approach has two major concepts, namely competition between election candidates and public participation. To convince voters, politicians promote the superiority of their candidates and public policy plans. In elections with sole candidates, competition will not occur and voters will not be able to choose state organizers and public policy plans as there will be only candidate and one set of policy plans.

Voters are sovereign not only in choosing state organizers but also in determining public policy plans. As Indonesia adopts a representative (indirect) democracy system, the people as the bearers of sovereignty will determine who will represent them and what policies said representations will execute. Elections with sole candidates harm voters as they rob voters of the ability to choose. Voters as bearers of sovereignty are forced to choose a candidate determined by just a select few. In short, elections with sole candidates do not see the people as sovereign and is therefore a violation of the principle of people’s sovereignty.

How a state is organized determines its progress. Article 1 Points (2) and (3) stipulate the organization of the nation-state. The two points stipulate that the nation-state of Indonesia is based upon two principles, namely democracy (people’s sovereignty) and nomocracy (state of law). The implementation of people’s sovereignty must be based on law and the process of lawmaking must be democratic.

Election laws exist to ensure that elections guarantee people’s right to vote for leaders and public policy plans and that there are more than one candidate on all elections. The Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling on sole candidates in regional elections basically gives the people the ability to choose between the sole candidate and a blank box. Other countries, such as the United States, Australia and the Philippines will immediately inaugurate sole election candidates. This is because the candidacy procedures and processes in these countries are open and competitive.

Blank boxes in regional elections

As the candidacy procedure and process in Indonesia is not yet open and competitive, the MK ruled that sole candidates would have to compete and win against a blank box. In order to enable voters to choose, the blank boxes are personified. This is where the importance of state of law lies. Laws must ensure equal opportunity for all societal elements to support alternative candidates and public policy plans. These societal elements include political parties, civil organizations (including professional organizations, election watchdogs, observers and academicians) and various social groups.

As only political parties and independents who fulfill requirements can propose election candidates, political parties that do not fulfill the requirements and various civil organizations can proposed not only criteria for regional administration organizers but also assessments that the sole candidates do not fulfill the requirements. Political parties and civil organizations are not only allowed to criticize sole candidates’ public policy plans; they are also allowed to offer alternative policy plans to compete with the sole candidates’ policies. Laws must ensure that political parties that do not fulfill candidacy requirements and various civil organizations have the opportunity to get their voice heard on these issues.

Laws must ensure not only such opportunity but also that mediums exist to make the voices heard. Election laws in various other democratic countries allow various civilian groups to seek funding in line with laws that ensure funding for campaigns of alternative candidates and public policy plans. However, these civilian groups must submit reports of campaign fund income and expenses to the KPU.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Ramlan Surbakti

The blank box in the 2016 Pati regency election with a sole candidate in Central Java was supported by various civilian groups. However, as the Election Law has yet to ensure the right and opportunity for civilians to support alternative candidates and public policy plans, their activities are limited. The sole candidate ended up winning the election, even with a significant number of votes for the blank box. In Makassar’s mayor election earlier this year, the blank box won. It was supported by two major groups, namely supporters of candidates disqualified by the local election commission and a combination of various civilian groups. Voters were more convinced by the alternative criteria of candidate and public policy offered by the two groups.

As the blank box was “empowered”, the 2018 Makassar election has successfully ensured voters’ right to choose alternative candidate and public policy plans. Furthermore, it is in accordance with the principle of people’s sovereignty.

Ramlan Surbakti, Professor of Comparative Politics, School of Social and Political Sciences, Airlangga University; Member of Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI)