Local Elections and Democracy in Indonesia : the Case of the Riau Archipelago
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This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg) Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Local elections and democracy in Indonesia : the case of the Riau Archipelago Choi, Nankyung 2005 Choi, N. (2005). Local elections and democracy in Indonesia : the case of the Riau Archipelago. (RSIS Working Paper, No. 91). Singapore: Nanyang Technological University. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/79894 Nanyang Technological University Downloaded on 24 Sep 2021 00:26:48 SGT ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library No. 91 Local Elections and Democracy in Indonesia: The Case of the Riau Archipelago Nankyung Choi Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies Singapore NOVEMBER 2005 With Compliments This Working Paper series presents papers in a preliminary form and serves to stimulate comment and discussion. The views expressed are entirely the author’s own and not that of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library The Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) was established in July 1996 as an autonomous research institute within the Nanyang Technological University. Its objectives are to: • Conduct research on security, strategic and international issues. • Provide general and graduate education in strategic studies, international relations, defence management and defence technology. • Promote joint and exchange programmes with similar regional and international institutions; organise seminars/conferences on topics salient to the strategic and policy communities of the Asia-Pacific. Constituents of IDSS include the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) and the Asian Programme for Negotiation and Conflict Management (APNCM). Research Through its Working Paper Series, IDSS Commentaries and other publications, the Institute seeks to share its research findings with the strategic studies and defence policy communities. The Institute’s researchers are also encouraged to publish their writings in refereed journals. The focus of research is on issues relating to the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and their implications for Singapore and other countries in the region. The Institute has also established the S. Rajaratnam Professorship in Strategic Studies (named after Singapore’s first Foreign Minister), to bring distinguished scholars to participate in the work of the Institute. Previous holders of the Chair include Professors Stephen Walt (Harvard University), Jack Snyder (Columbia University), Wang Jisi (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences), Alastair Iain Johnston (Harvard University) and John Mearsheimer (University of Chicago). A Visiting Research Fellow Programme also enables overseas scholars to carry out related research in the Institute. Teaching The Institute provides educational opportunities at an advanced level to professionals from both the private and public sectors in Singapore as well as overseas through graduate programmes, namely, the Master of Science in Strategic Studies, the Master of Science in International Relations and the Master of Science in International Political Economy. These programmes are conducted full-time and part-time by an international faculty. The Institute also has a Doctoral programme for research in these fields of study. In addition to these graduate programmes, the Institute also teaches various modules in courses conducted by the SAFTI Military Institute, SAF Warrant Officers’ School, Civil Defence Academy, Singapore Technologies College, and the Defence and Home Affairs Ministries. The Institute also runs a one-semester course on ‘The International Relations of the Asia Pacific’ for undergraduates in NTU. Networking The Institute convenes workshops, seminars and colloquia on aspects of international relations and security development that are of contemporary and historical significance. Highlights of the Institute’s activities include a regular Colloquium on Strategic Trends in the 21st Century, the annual Asia Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO) and the biennial Asia Pacific Security Conference (held in conjunction with Asian Aerospace). IDSS staff participate in Track II security dialogues and scholarly conferences in the Asia-Pacific. IDSS has contacts and collaborations with many international think tanks and research institutes throughout Asia, Europe and the United States. The Institute has also participated in research projects funded by the Ford Foundation and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. It also serves as the Secretariat for the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP), Singapore. Through these activities, the Institute aims to develop and nurture a network of researchers whose collaborative efforts will yield new insights into security issues of interest to Singapore and the region i ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library ABSTRACT In this essay, I examine the dynamics and outcomes of Indonesia’s first-ever direct local executive elections in a case study of the gubernatorial election in the Riau Archipelago. Specifically, I examine the election processes, identify the major issues before, during, and after the elections, and assess voters’ participation. I then examine the ways direct local executive elections have affected the dynamics of local politics in the country. Overall, this essay aims to further develop our understanding of political dynamics in the Riau Archipelago and grasp the practical significance of local political change in Indonesia more broadly. *********************** Dr NANKYUNG CHOI is a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She specializes on local politics in Indonesia, having successfully completed a Ph.D dissertation entitled “Democratisation, Decentralization, and Local Party Politics in Post-Soeharto Indonesia” from the Department of Political and Social Change, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Australian National University in 2004. She has a M.A. degree in Political Science from Sung-Kyun- Kwan University, Seoul, Korea (1996) and a M.A. degree in Anthropology from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (1999). Among her publications is “Local Elections and Party Politics in Post-Reformasi Indonesia: A View from Yogyakarta” in Contemporary Southeast Asia (August 2004). At IDSS her research focuses on Indonesia's direct local executive elections in several selected localities, including the Riau Archipelago and Riau Province. ii ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library Local Elections and Democracy in Indonesia: The Case of the Riau Archipelago Introduction More than seven years have passed since Soeharto’s fall unleashed historic political and social transformations in Indonesia. It has been more than four years since the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid began implementing sweeping decentralization measures that devolved a wide range of administrative and fiscal responsibilities to the country’s district- level governments and assemblies. Within this short period, Indonesians have participated in three national elections – two parliamentary elections, in June 1999 and April 2004; and the country’s first-ever direct presidential elections, held in two rounds in July and September of 2004. Currently, Indonesia is taking yet another important step in its process of political and administrative decentralization: direct elections of local government heads (i.e., provincial governors, municipal mayors, and district regents). Since 1 June 2005, eight provinces and over 170 municipalities and districts have held their first-ever direct executive elections. Over the next few years, similar elections will take place in all remaining provinces and municipalities/districts. Given the increased power of local government in Indonesia, the country’s local politics are of great practical significance. Yet our understanding of how direct local elections have and will continue to affect the dynamics of the country’s politics and governance remains woefully inadequate. International press coverage of Indonesia’s recent local elections has generally been quite favorable. My research shows a more complex picture. Direct local executive elections have gone smoothly in some areas, but generated considerable controversy in many others. In some instances, election controversies have even spurred large-scale public protest. Of course it is too early to assess the impact of these elections on local governance. Yet understanding the dynamics, including the strengths and shortcomings, of recent direct local elections in 1 ATTENTION: The Singapore Copyright Act applies to the use of this document. Nanyang Technological University Library Indonesia is important on at least two different levels. Viewed narrowly, an appreciation of the dynamics of local electoral politics in the country can contribute to efforts to improve the fairness and quality of future elections. More broadly, given that many local elections in Indonesia have been tarnished by such undemocratic practices as ‘money politics’ and