Money politics mars Surabaya's election for mayor

Money politics mars Surabaya's election for mayor

Harry Bhaskara, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya

Some 1.9 million Surabayans will head for the polling booths
today to vote for their city's first directly elected mayor. The
poll is part of sweeping changes in the country's election
system, a product of the 1998 political earthquake that forced
president Soeharto to quit after 32 years of authoritarian rule.

Heads of local governments will now be elected soon after
their terms expire, though debates are yet to be settled over the
election of governors in areas with special status, such as
Yogyakarta and Jakarta.

Following the country's first direct presidential election in
October, more than 200 government heads from provincial to
subdistrict level are contesting regional posts this year,
beginning with Kutai Kartanegara regency in East Kalimantan last
month.

Unlike the furor leading up to the presidential election in
October, the mood in the country's second-largest city in the
weeks prior to the election has been subdued. Only the occasional
gatherings and brief campaign speeches of candidates followed by
much longer programs of entertainment are reminders that an
election is underway.

Voters, meanwhile, are deserting the city in droves. On Friday
night, two days before the poll, thousands of Surabayans left
town, anticipating the long weekend which coincides with the
start of the school holidays. It was unclear whether many planned
to return on Monday to cast their votes or whether they would
just ignore their first pilkada, the acronym for the regional
direct elections.

It is unclear whether the latest surveys, which predict the
number of people expected not to vote would be between 7.8 and
8.8 percent, a rosy turnout of more than 90 percent, had taken
this into account.

Not so bright are the prospects of a problem-free vote. Three
days prior to the election the election supervisory committee
(panwaslu) described its preparations as "chaotic." Beset by
numerous problems, including the wrong addresses being found in
voters' cards and the issuance of cards to the deceased, the
organizers, however, said they believed they can overcome these
difficulties by polling day.

Observers of the poll, meanwhile, have criticized the
candidates contesting the election as lacking in substance, and
worry that the newly democratized structure will also democratize
corruption.

Departing from past authoritarian practices where heads of
governments were mostly top-down appointments, today's election
has put political parties into important positions.

No aspirant can become a candidate without the endorsement of
political party, and candidates for the post of Surabaya mayor
are said to have paid billions of rupiah, or hundreds of
thousands of U.S. dollars, to secure nominations. One politician,
who did not want to be named, accused of the parties of extortion
but, somewhat bizarrely, admitted to paying the bribes -- Rp 50
million a day to the party for the two-week campaign period --
part of the Rp 3.32 billion raised to contest the poll.

Voters, meanwhile, are left with many questions. They rightly
wonder where the candidates' money came from and, as importantly,
how they will recoup this money if they win. One candidate openly
acknowledged that he borrowed hundreds of million of rupiah to
fund his campaign programs, while it is not unusual to learn top
officials have become filthy rich at the end of their terms.

In most cases in regional elections the incumbents have the
advantage. In Surabaya's case this means Bambang DH and Arif
Afandi, his deputy. The two, who are running on the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) ticket, are set for a fight
with Alisjahbana and Wahyudin Husein, of the National Awakening
Party (PKB) -- their closest rivals according to a latest survey
-- along with Erlangga and AH Thony, of the Democratic Party (PD)
and the National Mandate Party (PAN) respectively, and Gatot
Sudjito and Benyamin Hilly, from the Golkar Party and the
Prosperous Democratic Party (PDS).

The above survey results in the East Java capital perfectly
reflect the political map of the entire province, which is a
traditional PDI-P/PKB stronghold.

Of all the candidates, only one pair has clearly promised to
fight corruption, a widely acknowledged social ill in regional
governments: Gatot and Benyamin. Unfortunately survey results
show they are the lowest polling candidates.

The Alisjahbana-Wahyudin pair has promised to spend Rp 250
billion in loans for the unemployed without interest. Although
businessman Wahyudin is the richest candidate with a declared
wealth of Rp 35.2 billion, the question remains, where will all
the money for those loans come from?

And there are numerous other pertinent issues to be addressed
in this industrial city, including education and health, which
mean that whoever wins, they will have their work cut out.