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espite coming on the heels of the 20th anniversary of the end of the New Order, a regime mired in political and economic nepotism, the upcoming concurrent regional elections in June remain plagued by dynastic politics.

Six out of the 17 provinces holding gubernatorial elections have candidate pairs with family ties to the incumbent governors or their deputies.

In many cases, the candidates’ families have deep-rooted and wide-ranging influence in the region.

“One of the reasons we overthrew Soeharto was KKN [corruption, collusion and nepotism],” said Agus Riewanto, a constitutional law lecturer at Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java. “But I think these political dynasties are the same thing, just with different packaging.”

In South Sulawesi, for example, the Yasin Limpo family remains dominant despite House of Representatives member Dewi Yasin Limpo’s graft arrest in 2015. Dewi’s brother, governor candidate Ichsan Yasin Limpo, is following in the footsteps of his older brother and incumbent Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo.

Ichsan had previously replaced Syahrul as Gowa regent, while Ichsan himself has been replaced by his son, Adnan Purichta Ichsan.

Ichsan’s and Syahrul’s third brother Irman is the head of the province’s education agency, while Haris, the youngest, is the CEO of Makassar’s local water company.

Syahrul’s niece, Devy Khaddafi, is the province’s head spokesperson, while his second son, Kemal Redindo Syahrul Putra, acts as the secretary of the province’s local revenue body.

The family’s influence is also felt in the legislature: Indira Chunda Thita, Syahrul’s daughter, is a member of the House; older sister Tenri Olle holds a seat in the South Sulawesi Legislative Council; while nephew Andi Pahlevi is a member of the Makassar Legislative Council.

In West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Democratic Party (PD) member Sitti Rohmi, the sister of incumbent Governor Zainul Madjid, is running as a deputy governor candidate with Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator Zulkieflimansyah.

Despite the family ties, however, the pair’s campaign manager, Muhammad Nasip Ikroman, denied that Rohmi’s candidacy was an example of dynastic politics, saying she went through the same process as other would-be PD candidates.

“We held a debate between the candidates, including dozens of [NTB] figures, in which Rohmi also participated,” he said. “We chose her because she has a clear vision and mission and also because she represents the women of [NTB].”

“If this were a dynasty, we would force a candidate through even though they were unqualified. But in [NTB], Rohmi is very competent and is actually worthy of the nomination, regardless of her relationship to the governor,” he added.

West Kalimantan gubernatorial candidate and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) member Karolin Margret Natasa has also denied that her status as the daughter of incumbent Governor Cornelis M H was the reason for her candidacy.

“I am the result of the party’s regeneration process, not someone who came out of the blue,” she said.

Political dynasties are not only common in Indonesia, but across the world: the Bush and Kennedy families in the United States, the Trudeau family in Canada and the Lee family in Singapore are just a few examples.

But experts say dynastic politics are especially detrimental in developing countries such as Indonesia, where people tend to be less knowledgeable about democratic processes.

“Certain groups and certain families take advantage of this lack of awareness to block others from the [election] process,” constitutional law expert Feri Amsari told The Jakarta Post on Friday. “This results in leadership that puts family interests above the public good.”

Lucius Karus of Indonesian Parliament Watch echoed the sentiment, saying extra vigilance was needed because of the culture of corruption still common in many regions.

“We have to avoid power transfers between the relatives of incumbents, because successors can potentially cover up the crimes of their predecessors,” he said.

A 2015 revision to the Regional Elections Law contained a provision that barred direct relatives and in-laws of incumbent regional heads from becoming candidates for election.

However, the Constitutional Court overturned the provision in July 2015, saying it discriminated against the incumbents by restricting their political rights.

Association for Elections and Democracy director Titi Anggraini acknowledged that everyone should have the right to participate in an election, but said dynastic politics should be avoided because it bypassed democratic recruitment processes.

“If the candidates do not come from a democratic process, then their behavior will be undemocratic as well,” she said. (kmt)
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Markus Makur, Djemi Amnifu, Panca Nugraha and Severianus Endi contributed to this article from East Manggarai, Kupang, Mataram and Pontianak.