Deepening Democracy in Indonesia?: Direct Elections for Local Leaders (Pilkada)

4. BATAM’S 2006 MAYORAL ELECTION: Weakened Political Parties and Intensified Power Struggle in Local Indonesia

74 74 Nankyung Choi 4 BATAM’S 2006 MAYORAL ELECTION Weakened Political Parties and Intensified Power Struggle in Local Indonesia Nankyung Choi INTRODUCTION Since the 1998 collapse of Soeharto’s New Order regime, Indonesia has seen rapid and fundamental changes in its political institutions. Simultaneous processes of democratic reform and administrative decentralization have transformed the country’s once centralized, authoritarian political system into a more decentralized and democratic one. At the core of democratic reforms has been the introduction of competitive elections and, during the last ten years, Indonesia has successfully staged two general elections (in 1999 and 2004) as well as its first-ever direct presidential election (in 2004). Administrative decentralization has also been a key dimension of political change. In January 2001, two laws on regional autonomy devolved a wide range of power and authority to the regions. In Indonesia and internationally, many advocates of political reform suggest political decentralization is an effective way to consolidate democracy. In September 1999, Indonesia’s local assemblies recovered their right to elect and dismiss local government heads. While the elections of local government heads by Local Assembly members decentralized Indonesia’s politics, the character and results of those elections were complex and controversial. The 74 04 DeepeningDemocracy Ch 4 1/15/09, 11:16 AM 74 75 Batam’s 2006 Mayoral Election 75 indirect local elections fuelled a rash of “money politics” at the local level, in which party representatives in local assemblies effectively sold their votes to candidates regardless of their parties’ official lines. In 2002, responding to criticisms from domestic and international organizations and in an effort to achieve consistency with the amended constitution, the National Assembly adopted a direct election system for local government heads. In June 2005, the Indonesian government commenced another important step towards more decentralized politics by holding direct elections for local government heads — i.e., provincial governors, district regents (bupati), and municipal mayors (walikota). From June 2005 to September 2007, sixteen gubernatorial and over 280 regent and mayoral elections were held. Over the next couple of years, the remaining provinces, districts, and municipalities will hold similar elections. This essay examines how Indonesia’s experiment with direct local elections has affected local political dynamics and governance in a single locality. It does so through an analysis of a mayoral election on the island of Batam in the Riau Archipelago.1 Given the substantially expanded political and fiscal powers of Indonesia’s local governments, it is clear that the move to direct local elections will have significant impacts on the country’s political life. However, while there is significant interest in these elections, our understanding of their impacts is still quite limited. Indonesia’s tremendous diversity challenges any general conclusions, and a single case study of direct local elections will not permit generalization.That said, given its strategic significance as a site of international commerce as well as its social past as an integral part of the New Order regime, Batam provides an illustrative case of how political decentralization has affected Indonesia’s local politics. An analysis of the Batam case can also contribute to the larger task of grasping the dynamics of Indonesia’s local political change. To this end, the case of Batam’s mayoral election is examined in light of existing empirical studies and theoretical literature on political change in Indonesia. The analysis is organized in three sections. In the first section, I provide relevant context on Batam’s social, political, and economic attributes. In the second section, I analyse Batam’s mayoral election, from the nomination of candidates, through the campaigns and voting, to the validation of election results. In the final section, I discuss the practical and theoretical implications of direct local elections on the political dynamics in Batam and beyond. In light of both my own findings and existing literature of other cases, Batam’s experience suggests the need to be cautious about the commonly accepted hypothesis that direct local elections would ultimately promote the 04 DeepeningDemocracy Ch 4 1/15/09, 11:16 AM 75 76 76 Nankyung Choi further democratization of local politics. My analysis of Batam’s mayoral election and observation of elections in other regions challenge the dominant assumption that direct local elections herald the arrival of local democracy, by improving equity, responsiveness, and accountability of local governance. I rather call attention to two notable features of Indonesia’s direct elections of local government...