The 2020 regional elections will serve as a barometer of the appeal of political parties and their ability to attract voters. Moreover, political parties are no longer fully enticing regional head candidates.
By
·3 minutes read
The 2020 regional elections will serve as a barometer of the appeal of political parties and their ability to attract voters. Moreover, political parties are no longer fully enticing regional head candidates.
Thus far, political parties have no competitors in attracting voters and candidates for presidential and legislative elections. The 1945 Constitution states that participants of the presidential election are parties or a combination of parties that meet the requirements for the number of votes or the number of seats in House of Representatives (DPR). Legislative election participants are political parties that pass a verification process and meet the voting threshold of the previous election results.
In the 1955 election, it was even possible for individual candidates to compete for seats in the House. Of the 172 election participants at the time, 25 parties and three individuals won House seats.
For regional head elections, since 2008, political parties have gotten competitors to propose regional head candidates. Law No. 12/2008 on regional governments allows individuals to become candidates for regional heads as long as they meet the requirements of real support that is proportional to the population. The law on elections was changed, but individuals are still allowed to take part in the elections, even though requirements for the nomination have increased.
The 2020 regional elections also still attract individuals to propose themselves. Of the 270 regions (provinces, cities or regencies) that will hold local elections this year, Kompas Research and Development noted that as of Monday (24/2/2020), no less than 98 pairs have registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) as individual candidates. They do not necessarily meet the nomination requirements. If they pass, they can win.
Moreover, in 2015, of the 269 regions that held local elections, 135 candidate pairs were independent candidates, and 13 of them won their election. Some of these independent regional heads are running again this year; still not competing through party channels. In the 2017 regional elections, there were three independent candidate pairs that won the election. At that time, the elections were held in 101 regions. In the 2018 elections, there were also individual candidates who won elections.
Some individual candidates are candidates from political parties that have been \'sidelined\', because there is a conflict in the party or the party has proposed another candidate.
Some individual candidates are candidates from political parties that have been “sidelined”, because there is a conflict in the party or the party has proposed another candidate. However, as reported in this daily newspaper, in the 2020 regional elections, the interest of prospective independent regents/mayors who submitted their support documents to the regional KPU was quite high on the last day of registration on Sunday (23/2/2020) (Kompas, 24/2/2020).
Parties believe they will win a majority of the regional elections. The political party machine will be the deciding factor in election victories. However, it must be admitted that the level of public trust in political parties has been on the decline. Moreover, to become a regional head candidate, a number of parties require what is often referred to as a “dowry”. Not to mention, there have been conflicts in the determination of candidates, including in the strengthening of candidates from political elite families that can stir public sympathy for the party’s decline.
If parties do not take action to improve their electability in the 2020 regional elections, their appeal will continue to fade, replaced by the appeal of independent candidates.