Observers Urge Pilkada Reform to Strengthen Participation and Integrity

A public policy observer from The Indonesian Institute, Arfianto Purbolaksono, has urged for governance reforms in regional head elections (pilkada) by strengthening public participation, political financing transparency, and supervisory effectiveness to improve the quality of local democracy. Speaking during an online dissemination discussion titled ‘Measuring the Future of Local Democracy After the Constitutional Court’s Decision on the Pilkada System’ on Wednesday, Arfianto noted that the discourse on changing the pilkada mechanism to be conducted by the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) had created a divergence of views between the political elite and the public. According to him, the institute’s study shows that the majority of the public still desires a pilkada system that allows for direct participation as part of citizens’ political rights. “We also found that when juxtaposing the elite discourse with survey results based on public perception, there is a gap between the public and the political elite. The elite talk about efficiency, while the public talks about participation,” Arfianto said. He explained that the right to vote is seen by the public as an important instrument to build the accountability of regional heads while strengthening democratic legitimacy. Therefore, pilkada reform should be focused on improving governance, rather than merely changing the electoral mechanism. The study recommends that the discussion of the Election Law revision involve broad public participation so that policy changes reflect the needs of the people. The study also encourages campaign finance reform, strengthening the oversight role of the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), improving internal political party recruitment mechanisms, and providing sustainable political education. “The future Election Bill needs to be discussed with broad public involvement so that policy changes are truly substantial and capable of strengthening the quality of democracy,” Arfianto stated. In line with this, Populi Center researcher Dimas Ramadhan assessed that improving the quality of pilkada must be accompanied by improvements in political party governance, especially in cadre development and the selection of regional head candidates. “The requirements must also be stringent. At least three conditions need to be met. As mentioned earlier, internal party reform. Cadre development, there needs to be an improvement in party governance. For example, sustainable cadre development, transparent candidate selection, and accountable organizational governance,” he said. Meanwhile, M. Busyro Asmuni, a political science lecturer at Universitas Pembangunan Nasional Veteran Jakarta, believes that political education for the public must be strengthened through multi-party collaboration to prevent transactional politics in pilkada. “Regarding political education for the people, I think this is our collective responsibility. Educational institutions, NGOs, research institutions, and civil society organisations all have a responsibility to build a politically aware society,” Busyro said. In addition to strengthening political education, Busyro also encouraged the refinement of regulations, particularly concerning the transparency and accountability of campaign financing, to sustainably improve the quality of local democracy.