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Electoral college improves representation
Since the Reform Era began with the downfall of Soeharto in 1998, Indonesia has undergone a process of decentralization, with a concerted focus on handing greater power and representation to people living outside Java.
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Indonesian national flag (Shutterstock/File)
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ince the Reform Era began with the downfall of Soeharto in 1998, Indonesia has undergone a process of decentralization, with a concerted focus on handing greater power and representation to people living outside Java. This policy has been pursued to address concerns that wealth, power and development have largely been concentrated on Java at the expense of other regions, especially the more remote.
There is, however, one area of government where this general trend has not been evident: the presidential election. This is because the president is elected by popular vote, which, it can be argued, gives added weight to the interests of voters in Java, as it is by far the nation’s most populous island — home to roughly 144 million of the country’s 261 million people, according to 2017 Home Ministry data.
Perhaps as a result, Indonesia has had a distinct lack of presidential representation from outside Java. Since independence in 1945, only one president has come from outside Java: BJ Habibie, who took office simply because he was the vice president of then president Soeharto who stepped down in May 1998.
The 2019 election, as in 2014, will see two candidates from Java compete for the nation’s highest office.
