Poor control and mismanagement have tainted the credibility of local elections, resulting in proposals to limit their existence.
In its latest report, International Crisis Group (ICG) recorded that 20 of more than 200 regional polls had turned violent because of mob action supporting losing candidates.
The report observed three cases from the districts of Mojokerto, East Java, Tana Toraja in South Sulawesi and Tolitoli, Central Sulawesi, that highlighted this violent trend that has placed direct local elections under national scrutiny.
Some candidates contending top official posts in various regions expressed their disappointment on the streets through legions of angry mobs. "These contests are often intense personal rivalries for community power, which can be highly emotive, and, if not closely watched, can quickly turn violent," said ICG Southeast Asia analyst Achmad Sukarsono.
In the Mojokerto election, more than 40 protesters were angry at the disqualification of regent candidate, Dimyati Rosyid, and threw Molotov cocktails and torched cars at the local council.
The disorder took place after the local General Elections Commission, known as KPUD, disqualified a popular local Muslim cleric for medical reasons.
The discontent of losing candidates has also resulted in mounting appeals cases, filed with the Constitutional Court, seeking to overturn the results in favor of poll upshots.
Other studies found incumbents benefitted from their access to local poll committees, which are funded by local administration budgets. "The central government should provide more funding to the KPUD and oversight committees to stop dependency on local financing," the ICG recommended.
The ICG also recommended that at the local levels, the official oversight committee – the Panwaslu and the Bawaslu – should be endowed with the authority and resources to investigate irregularities and hand out initial adjunctions quickly. The overwhelming issues regarding regional polls have resulted in central government pragmatism on several matters pertaining to the regional elections bill currently being drafted.
Among other proposals from the government includes eliminating direct gubernatorial elections, which argues the notion that governors are representatives of the central government in the regions.
Local elections in Indonesia are currently conducted based on the 2004 law on local administrations, which mandates direct election.
Home Ministry spokesman Reydonnizar Moenek said that his ministry had almost finalized discussions on the bill so legislators could begin the relevant discussions by the end of this month. "The public should not worry because we are fully aware of the potential for local elections to cause conflicts," he said.
If legislators approve the bill, candidates would no longer be allowed to orchestrate mass campaigns, he added. "They can use radio, television and newspapers in their campaigns to minimize conflicts on the streets," he said. (rch)