As 270 regions across the archipelago contest the 2020 simultaneous regional elections on Dec. 9, only a few dozen races promise a worthwhile political spectacle. Among them is the regency election for Kediri in East Java, which not only has one but two big points of contention. The controversies surrounding the Kediri poll have even led political and election experts to suggest that it lays bare the flaws in Indonesia’s democratic system. Political dynasty The Kediri election is to be contested by 28-year-old businessman Hanindhito Himawan Pramono. With the blessing of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), he teamed up with Dewi Maria Ulfa, the leader of the Kediri branch of Fatayat NU, the women’s wing of the largest Islamic organization in the country, Nahdlatul Ulama. Hanindhito is gunning for the regent’s chair, which is soon...