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Opposition split over new rules on regional elections
With more than 100 regional elections scheduled for next year, members of the opposition Red-and-White Coalition are at loggerheads over a new proposal that stipulates elected local leaders can appoint their running mates
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ith more than 100 regional elections scheduled for next year, members of the opposition Red-and-White Coalition are at loggerheads over a new proposal that stipulates elected local leaders can appoint their running mates.
Although the newly issued government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on direct local elections has given governors-elect, mayors-elect and regents-elect the authority to appoint their deputies, the Ge-rindra Party said that such authority could in fact create weak local government.
'Referring to the Perppu, newly elected regional heads will most likely appoint someone whom they can easily control as their deputies since they want to ensure their deputies won't be a threat for their reelection bid five years later,' said Gerindra Party politician Ahmad Riza Patria, also deputy chairman of House Commission II overseeing domestic governance and regional autonomy.
Direct local elections were reinstated by then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono through the issuance of a Perppu following a barrage of criticism for his inaction that allowed a law to pass that returned the power to elect regional leaders to Regional Legislative Councils (DPRDs).
Party leaders within the Red-and-White Coalition had signed a pact to support the proposal of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party to support the Perppu in exchange for the latter's support, joining their opposition coalition in the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
The coalition, however, has been on the verge of breaking apart recently, following a split within the Golkar Party, the current leader of the opposition coalition.
At a recent national congress in Bali, the leader of one faction of Golkar, Aburizal Bakrie, announced a plan to cancel the deal withYudhoyono and to oppose the Perppu in the House. Aburizal's stance was quickly attacked by Yudhoyono, the Democrats' chairman, who later approached President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's Great Indonesia Coalition to build support for the Perppu, which also stipulates that governors, regents and mayors may have up to three deputies.
Meanwhile, Democratic Party lawmaker Khatibul Umam Wiranu insisted that the installment of non-political appointees as regional head deputies would have a positive outcome.
'Ninety percent of regional head pairs part ways before their term expires since both are looking to run in the next local election. We don't want to see this happen all the time as this could affect the quality of public services,' he said.
Earlier this month, Jokowi issued Government Regulation No. 102/2014 stipulating provinces with populations of less than 1 million would have no deputy governor, while those with populations between 1 million and 3 million would have one. Provinces with populations between 3 million and 10 million could have two deputies, while those with populations over 10 million would have three deputies.
The regulation also stipulates that regencies or municipalities with less than 100,000 residents can not have a deputy regent or deputy mayor, while those with populations between 100,000 and 250,000 can have one deputy and those with more than 250,000 may have two deputies.
Regional leaders, according to the regulation, must appoint their deputy or deputies no later than one month after their inauguration. A governor must also propose the names of deputy candidates to the president no later than 15 days after the inauguration.
Lawmaker Yandri Susanto of the National Mandate Party (PAN), another member of the opposition coalition, supported the new regulation.
'Allowing regional heads to have more than one deputy will help create fairness. How can densely populated regions be compared to those with smaller populations,' he said Friday.
Next year, Indonesia is scheduled to hold regional elections in eight provinces: North Kalimantan, Jambi, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Sumatra, Riau Islands, North Sulawesi and Bengkulu. Elections will also take place in 153 regencies, 26 cities and 17 new regions.
Gadjah Mada University political analyst Purwo Santoso supported the Perppu, saying that regional leaders would need assistance from experienced government officials instead of a political appointee to deal with complex bureaucracy.
'That's why we now call them deputy, not wakil [vice] regional head,' he said
