Direct election and public welfare

Direct election and public welfare

Tata Mustasya, Jakarta

After directly electing the President last year, many people
have great expectations of the direct elections of local
government leaders, like governors, regents and mayors. It is
believed that a directly elected local government head would
better manage public policy as they would have a direct mandate
from the voters.

In reality, however, the relationship between democracy and
welfare is not that simple, particularly in the short-run. Indra
J. Piliang (Kompas, March 29, 2005), for example, questioned the
government's promotion of the regional elections. In his opinion,
the government should prioritize people's welfare through
programs such as poverty eradication and employment reduction
rather than the elections.

Even in the long-run, democracy does not automatically improve
people's welfare. The mechanism is complicated and strongly
dependent on real societal conditions, like the economy and the
distribution of political power. In this context, we must make
every effort to optimize the benefits of the regional leadership
elections.

In his book, The Future of Freedom, Illiberal Democracy at
Home and Abroad, Fareed Zakaria distinguished democracy and what
he called constitutional liberalism.

Many people are under the impression that democracy
automatically improves social welfare. Empirically, however, it
is not democracy but constitutional liberalism that has a direct
positive effect on government policy and the welfare of the
people. Included in constitutional liberalism is equality before
the law, ownership guarantees and protection, and the division of
power into some branches.

Trends in developing countries have shown different results.
Democracy often fails to create or strengthen constitutional
liberalism. Democracy has often resulted in "bad" leaders in
developing countries.

The question is, can the direct elections of local government
heads -- which requires a huge budget -- improve constitutional
liberalism and the people's welfare at a local level?

There are at least three factors that influence the success of
an election.

First, the strength of the electoral system, rules, and the
readiness of election officers. A poorly orchestrated election
could mean the election of incapable leaders, which would leave
the public worse-off rather than better-off after the election.

Continuous control and the evaluation of systems and rules is
crucial. If adequate preparations have not been made, delaying
the elections would be advisable.

The second factor is the distribution of political power and
the economic condition. One of the necessary conditions for a
successful election is a strong middle-class presence in the
regions.

A small number of powerful figures could very easily influence
votes in regions where the middle class is a minority. It would
be worse in regions where the population is largely poor. In the
regions, voters would choose the richest candidates regardless of
their competence.

Third, how significant is the authority of local governments
to improve constitutional liberalism and public policy?
High-profile local government leaders can not govern effectively
if they lack authority. In optimizing the benefits of the direct
elections, the reduction of regional authority under central
government supervision as stipulated in Law No 32/2004 becomes a
serious problem.

Even without direct elections, some local governments have
already made breakthroughs in achieving good governance. The
success of Solok regency in West Sumatra and Jembarana regency in
Bali, in fighting rampant corruption and in providing better
education and health services are real examples.

Politically, directly elected regional government heads can
also play a role in the balance of power. This would minimize
centralized power and policies that, based on empirical data, do
more harm than good for local people.

Because of its importance, all stakeholders should contribute
so that the direct elections bring to power competent local
government leaders.

The writer is a researcher at The Indonesian Institute and can
be reached at mustasyat@yahoo.com.