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Village head polls leave room for improvement in electoral governance
Following the generally successful conclusion to the unprecedented 2019 elections, this month's village head elections in East Java's Tulungagung regency indicates much work ahead in electoral governance at all administrative levels.
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A man dips his finger in indelible ink after casting his ballot in the 2018 Bali gubernatorial election in East Denpasar, Bali, during the simultaneous regional elections on June 27. (JP/Anggara Mahendra)
W
hile the dust has settled over the 2019 general election on April 17, the recent village head elections in Tulungagung regency, East Java regency, indicates that the country still has a lot of work to do to ensure free and fair elections at the grassroots.
Competition was fierce in the simultaneous elections held on July 9 to choose the heads of 239 villages in Tulungagung.
Nearly 1,000 candidates regitered to run in Tulungagung's village head elections, although only 648 fulfilled the administrative requirements – including 92 percent of 239 incumbents who ran for reelection.
“Most of the incumbents that did not run were ineligible because they had already served three terms,” said Yudi Irwanto, the head of village civil services at the Tulungagung administration.
The tight competition was evident in the alleged political intrigue that occurred in the election for Pinggirsari village head in Ngantru district, where three members of the same family – father Imam Suyadi, mother Maspiah and daughter Nindaningtyas – ran against two other candidates, including the incumbent, Agus Syai.
“The people here know that the family’s candidacy was an effort to [unseat] the incumbent,” Pinggirsari resident and election committee member Muaji told The Jakarta Post. “Six years ago, Maspiah also ran against the incumbent and lost.”
A maximum of five candidates are allowed to vie for the top position in each village, but since the three entries from Maspiah’s family brought the number to eight, the Pinggirsari election committee held a selection test to eliminate the candidates with the three lowest scores.
