TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Likely victory of minority candidates signals more open-minded voters
Candidates from minority groups are projected to win local elections in several regions, prompting hope that it indicates a less discriminatory outlook from voters toward leaders of different genders, ethnicities and faiths.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A local poll administrator (KPPS) counts ballots on Nov. 22, 2024, during a training simulation for the 2024 simultaneous regional elections at the Surabaya Police headquarters in East Java. (Antara/Didik Suhartono)
When the 40-year-old Sherly Tjoanda decided last month to run in place of her late husband in the North Maluku gubernatorial election, she was still bound to her wheelchair.
A newcomer to politics, Sherly was previously known better as the wife of Benny Laos, a candidate in the four-way gubernatorial election who was killed in a speedboat accident in mid-October, about a month before voting day on Nov. 27.
Sherly was a Christian candidate in the Muslim-majority North Maluku. She is also of Chinese descent, a fairly small ethnic group compared to other Eastern Indonesian ethnicities in the province.
She was also injured in the accident, with parts of her legs badly burnt below the knees from the fire on the speedboat.
But despite reeling from the loss of her husband, she made the resolve to continue Benny’s ambition to run for North Maluku.
“This [decision] is not for Benny, nor for myself, but for the hundreds of thousands of people in North Maluku who are all under God’s graces,” Sherly said during a press conference while announcing her candidacy on Oct. 24.
Sherly ran on the ticket of eight political parties, with local politician Sarbin Sehe as her running mate.
