Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2014 Executive Director of Indonesia Political Review\nIwan Setiawan has said that proposals to evaluate political recruitment\nrelated to regional elections (pilkada), particularly in terms of\navoiding money politics, represent an excellent solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the discourse on evaluating political recruitment in\nregional head election contests is very good. The recruitment of\nregional head candidates carried out by political parties has, in my\nview, not been in accordance with the principles of democracy and party\nmeritocracy,\u201d he said when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
He explained that money politics in regional elections is caused by\npolitical party recruitment processes that do not prioritise capacity,\nbut instead base candidacies on popularity, electability and the\ncontents of one\u2019s bag \u2014 a euphemism for money.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on my experience as a survey institution and political\nconsultant in several regional elections, the recruitment of regional\nhead candidates by political parties does not prioritise capacity,\nleadership cadre development within the party, or candidate integrity.\nWhat has been prioritised so far are candidates who have popularity,\nelectability and money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, money politics has long been a decisive factor in\nwinning regional election contests. Iwan said this is disproportionate\nto the consequences it produces, such as corruption ensnaring regional\nheads who must recoup their expensive political costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that these factors are indeed very decisive in winning\nregional election battles, but what is the point if the regional heads\nproduced lack capacity, leadership and integrity \u2014 and end up becoming\ncorrupt because they must recover the very expensive political costs\nthey incurred,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Iwan elaborated that political parties rarely recommend\ncandidates with integrity at the regional level because they prioritise\nfinances over cadre capacity. He also observed that many winning\ncandidates switch parties due to insufficient support from their\noriginal party.<\/p>\n
This is also a consequence of direct regional elections, which carry\nvery expensive political costs, forcing political parties to recruit\ncandidates who have relatively sufficient funds for winning\ncampaigns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis means that cadre development is not the primary requirement for\nbeing nominated by a particular party, so many internal party cadres who\nhave worked tirelessly to build the party at the regional level are not\nrecommended because they are deemed financially inadequate \u2014 and many\nend up switching parties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Iwan also stressed that evaluation of political recruitment for\nregional elections must ensure significant changes, namely prioritising\nfactors of capacity, cadre development and candidate integrity, so as to\navoid expensive political costs during contests.<\/p>\n
\u201cDirect regional elections also create opportunities for brokerage\npractices and the buying and selling of party recommendations for\nregional head candidates \u2014 this is also what makes direct elections very\nexpensive. Therefore, this evaluation discourse must be ensured to\naddress the important factors I have explained,\u201d Iwan said.<\/p>\n
Previously, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto said\nthat evaluation of political recruitment in regional elections needs to\nbe carried out to curb the high rate of corruption cases ensnaring\nregional heads in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Bima stated that the government has undertaken various measures to\nsuppress the high rate of corruption, but corrupt practices continue to\nincrease.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have run out of words regarding the number of regional heads\ncommitting criminal acts of corruption, because all regional heads have\nalready been warned and retreats have also been held,\u201d he said after a\nbook discussion on \u201cBabad Alas\u201d at the Faculty of Social and Political\nSciences, University of Jember, East Java, on Friday (13 February).<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/observer-evaluating-political-recruitment-for-regional-elections-a-good-solution-1771395901", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }