The Spring of Candidacy

The candidacy process of regional elections is often flawed. It is marred by the practice of political oligarchy that blocks competition causes the regional elections to turn into a game involving a handful of the elites

Kompas/Heru Sri Kumoro

Live streaming statement from the commissioner of the General Elections Commission related to the anticipation of the spread of Covid-19 in the holding of the 2020 Regional Election at the Bawaslu Office, Jakarta, Tuesday (17/3/2020).

In the midst of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, which has left the public in an uncomfortable and uncertain situation, political activities in many regions continue to warm up as stages of the simultaneous regional head elections of 2020 enter a crucial phase.

The stages include the candidacy stage, which causes public areas to be crowded with information on people, ahead of the simultaneous local elections in 270 regions.

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The potential candidates in the regional elections are preparing themselves for self-marketing. Of course, candidacy is very complex because it involves the candidate\'s electoral capital, power relations in the internal political parties, cross-political power communication, and momentum in the voter market.

Political communication

Referring to the writing of Pippa Norris’ Recruitment, in Richard S. Katz and William Crotty, Handbook of Party Politics (2006), candidacy is interpreted as the process of how candidates are selected from potential applicants who are able to compete for public office. Of course, many people want to run for regional heads or deputy regional heads. However, not all have adequate capital.

The competition for tickets to the race arena will take place in 270 regions that will hold simultaneous local elections, including nine provinces, 224 regencies and 37 cities. Based on the Elections Commission Regulation (PKPU) No. 15 of 2019 regarding stages, programs and schedules for the elections, the registration of candidate pairs will take place on June 16-18.

Meanwhile, the candidate pairs will be determined on July 8. Therefore, the period between March and early June becomes a busy time for those seeking support. The process of political communication must be built with a variety of strengths because to be a candidate must have the support of at least 20 percent of seats in the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) or 25 percent of votes in the 2019 legislative election of their respective areas.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Ahead of the election of the mayor of South Tangerang in 2020, billboards, banners and posters of a number of public figures and political parties are installed in public spaces such as roadsides in South Tangerang city, Banten, as seen on Sunday (24/11/2019).

Based on PKPU No. 16 of 2019, an amendment of PKPU No. 15 of 2019, the submission of documents on the requirements of support for governors and deputy governors to the General Elections Commission (KPU) took place on Feb. 16-20. Meanwhile, the submission of documents for regents and deputy regents/mayors and deputy mayors took place on Feb. 19-23.

Later, it will be determined whether a candidate meets the requirements and minimum support. It is not easy to gather minimum support requirements to compete in the local election. Political communication must be built with citizens who are willing to support them, as well as the election organizers.

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The current stage, when referring to Judith Trend and Robert Friendenberg in their book Political Campaign Communication Principles and Practices (2015), consists of the surfacing stage before the other three stages are carried out, namely the primary, nomination, and election stages. What is strengthened at the surfacing stage is self-image. The primary stage is crucial because it will decide whether a candidate is worthy of being nominated by a political party.

The nomination stage is when someone is officially declared a candidate by the KPU and begins a campaign. Based on PKPU No. 16 of 2019, the campaign period will take place on July 11 to Sept. 19. The final stage, of course, is crucial, namely the election, which will be held on Sept. 23, if there is no delay.

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The campaign is indeed not yet done because no official candidate pairs have been named by the KPU. However, the intensity of political communication has increased through publicity work, political public relations, and political marketing. Political public relations work is oriented toward two main objectives, namely to build mutual understanding and to gain the good will of the people for support. Meanwhile publicity, in addition to understanding and good intentions, is also oriented toward respect and popularity.

This political communication work will certainly be important in the process of candidacy because one of the important indicators in candidacy is the candidate\'s electoral appeal.

Gary W. Cox, in his writing Making Vote Count (1997) summarizes three important considerations for someone to be able to enter the candidate exchange.

In reality, the candidacy process of regional elections is often flawed.

First, the cost of entering the arena (cost of entry). This factor is often associated with political processes that are often high-cost, resulting in political capitalization and often giving birth to a law of supply and demand in political negotiations involving political parties or other interest groups. Second, the benefits gained if sitting in power (benefits of office). The potential for victory is calculated by the main elite of a political party if it supports someone.

Third, the aspect of receiving electoral support. It is not easy to negotiate political communication, especially with political parties that are concentrated with the interests of the main elites.

Damaging factors

Ideally, candidacy is a means of political institutionalization within political parties as part of the regeneration stage. After the recruitment stage is the involvement of party members in various activities, followed by the distribution and allocation of members to a number of public positions, including as leaders in elections.

In reality, the candidacy process of regional elections is often flawed. For example, it is marred by the practice of political oligarchy that blocks competition causes the regional elections to turn into a game involving a handful of the elites. What often happens then is that an incumbent pair tries to hold on to power using defensive mechanisms.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman (second right), attend a public assessment of two KPU draft regulations (PKPU) for the 2020 regional election at Le Meridien Hotel in Jakarta on Monday (25/11/2019).

If the ruler is no longer able to compete again because they have completed two terms of office, they will usually prepare their child, son-in-law, brother or certain close party members who have been listed as strong candidates.

The practice of dynastic politics is a serious problem. The candidacy process becomes instant, with the candidacy like a ceremony without any intrinsic meaning.

According to Adam Przeworski in Sustainable Democracy (1999), the oligarchic bureaucracy forms with cartel-like practices and is obliged to oppose its competitors while limiting competition, obstructing access to political power other than beyond its own groups.

Another damaging thing is the economic and political "investors" who play a role in the candidacy, even exceeding the power of political parties. Entrepreneurs or businesspeople who have an interest in protecting their business can facilitate certain figures to compete to become candidates for regional heads.

The practice of dynastic politics is a serious problem. The candidacy process becomes instant.

This phenomenon can contribute to the increasing number of single candidates in the regional elections. In the 2015 simultaneous regional elections there were only three single candidate pairs, and in the 2017 elections the number tripled to nine candidate pairs. In the 2018 elections, the number of single candidates again in 16 regions out of 171 regions that held the local elections.

In general, a single candidate wins easily, except for the anomaly that occurred in the Makassar City election in 2018. It is very likely that many people who have power in the regions and have access to economic power as well as politics take a shortcut to power by buying political parties.

It is interesting to read the Kompas opinion poll results on March 11-12 (Kompas, 16/3/2020), which stated that the majority of respondents, namely 69.7 percent, did not agree with only having one candidate pair. As many as 69.5 percent of respondents said a single candidate race was undemocratic; 61.2 percent said a single candidate proved there was an absence of “regeneration” in political parties; and 57.7 percent of respondents believed single candidate races were the only way for political parties to win and enter power circles.

Limit the single candidate

In organizing the 2020 regional elections, we should eliminate or limit single candidates. Political parties are obliged to have the political responsibility to institutionalize internal democracy through a transparent, accountable, and constituency-based candidacy process. Political parties must be willing and able to present qualified candidates to compete in the regional elections.

Kompas/Wisnu Widiantoro

Gun Gun Heryanto

Party recommendations for candidate pairs should not merely become a negotiating tool for economic accumulation and power of a handful of the party\'s main elites. The presence of more than one candidate pair is an urgent need for the 2020 regional elections. Do not let the regional elections only be a toy or a fraud mechanism.

Gun Gun Heryanto, Executive Director of The Political Literacy Institute; Political Communication Lecturer at State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta.