Race Is On as Regional Election Deadlines Loom
Jakarta. The regional elections planned for later this year are proving troublesome for many of the country's political parties, with a massive regulation overhaul that was only recently approved leaving election officials scrambling meet deadlines.
Jakarta-based lawmakers from the United Development Party (PPP) and the Golkar Party — both of which are involved in protracted internal leadership battles — have again attempted to make adjustments to key legislation ensuring the eligibility of governor, district head and mayoral candidates.
Not enough candidates?
However, coming Sunday marks the beginning of the three-day candidate registration period and the potential emergence of another problem for Indonesia's parties — there may not be enough candidates for a number of regional contests.
Currently, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is the only party to have announced candidates for elections in four districts and Denpasar city in Bali.
Parties that have so far abstained from nominations in the resort island, and indeed across the rest of the country, have cited a requirement in the Regional Elections Law which bars active legislators and regional council members from running in the regional elections this year, which will be held simultaneously across Indonesia on Dec. 9.
Three of the five candidates supported by the PDI-P, the biggest party in Bali, are incumbents.
Banten, which borders the Indonesian capital to the west, faces a similar situation. In the district of Serang, only the incumbent district head, Ratu Tatu Chasanah, has declared her bid for reelection under a coalition of five parties led by Golkar.
Meanwhile in Pandeglang district Irna Narulita, the wife of PPP lawmaker Dimyati Natakusumah (himself a former Pandeglang district head), so far is the only candidate.
Irna claims to have secured the backing of all 11 parties inside the district legislature. As only the PDI-P has rejected backing her, she will have a clear run to win.
As of Friday, similar circumstances were found in the East Java city of Surabaya, and the districts of Bantul, Yogyakarta; Situbondo, East Java; and Kutai Kertanegara, East Kalimantan.
Taking a gamble
General Elections Committee (KPU) chairman Husni Kamil Manik acknowledged that the new requirement has dissuaded many active lawmakers from giving up their current posts and taking a gamble at the upcoming elections.
However, Husni said he was confident that more candidates would declare their bid once the registration process is opened.
"If there is only one candidate then we will extend the period for three more days [after registration closes on Tuesday]," he said.
"If there is still only one candidate after the extension, then we will postpone the elections for that area," Husni continued, adding that the elections there would have to wait until the next round of simultaneous regional elections next year.
The Ministry of Home Affairs' director general for regional autonomy Sumarsono said the law does not allow an election to take place with just one candidate, but that he wasn't worried that situation would arise.
"I am confident, with all my heart, that no election will be postponed because there isn't more than one candidate," he said.
Only Democrats holding out
Nearly all major political parties in the House of Representatives have said that they have reached a decision on who to back in the 269 regional election contests, with the exception of the Democratic Party.
"Recommendation letters [on who the Democrats will back] for the majority of district level and city level elections have been issued," the party's deputy chairman Syarief Hasan said on Wednesday, adding that party chairman and former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono insisted on personally meeting the candidates before they announced their bids.
But Syarief said the Democrats, a party that has seen its popularity wane after a string of major corruption cases involving senior members, will mostly be supporting candidates from other parties, nominating just a few of their own for the Dec. 9 elections.
"In West Sumatra the plan is to nominate one of our own. The same with Riau Islands and Jambi. In Bengkulu, we are still working on it, including North Kalimantan. Mostly the Democrats are just supporting a coalition with other parties," he said.
The Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party has also said that its members would only participate either as a candidate or a running mate "in 30 percent of the regional elections." Meanwhile, newcomers the National Democratic (Nasdem) Party said that they would only participate in a total of 17 elections.
Betting on postponement
Newer parties like Gerindra and Nasdem may opt to support candidates from other parties instead of going on their own because they have little experience winning regional elections despite a strong performance nationally, experts have said.
Karyono Wibowo of the think-tank Indonesia Public Institute suggested parties like Golkar and the PPP, with ongoing leadership claims and bitter splits nationally and locally harming their popularity, might "intentionally see to it that the elections are postponed."
"It is unlikely that only one candidate will participate in an election, but it is not impossible," he said, adding that a postponement would buy the two parties enough time to settle their internal disputes and regroup.
President Joko Widodo on Thursday called for a limited cabinet meeting to discuss preparations for the elections, including an update on the split beleaguering the two parties.
"It is important that there be a reconciliation [inside the PPP and Golkar] albeit a limited one. There must be unity before they nominate their candidates," the president said. "I hope the registration process will be smooth."
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