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.