PKS Proposes Pairing Politicians with Professionals for Regional Leadership

Mardani Ali Sera, Head of the Election Winning Body (Bappilu) of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), has commented on the proposal to eliminate the position of deputy regional head, suggesting instead that a politician and a professional be paired together. He believes the root issue is not the existence of the deputy role itself, but political maturity and the ability to work as a team.

“The proposal (to eliminate the deputy) is good, but the root of the problem is political awareness. The goal is to serve the community, but often the focus is only on short-term power,” Mardani said on Thursday (13/8).

Mardani referred to the recent Constitutional Court ruling that overhauled the nomination threshold for regional elections. The court’s decision removed the requirement for parties to hold 20 percent of seats or 25 percent of the popular vote to field a candidate, instead aligning the threshold with the independent candidate route.

“With this ruling, the formation of candidate pairs is no longer solely driven by the need to build a large coalition to meet the ticket threshold,” Mardani explained. He urged parties to use this new space to pair a political figure with a professional from outside the party structure, such as an academic or community leader. “This way, the pair can be formed as a leadership team, not just an electoral team,” he added.

Mardani argued that a politician-professional pairing would likely be more harmonious than a pair consisting of two party cadres, which he described as often being a “forced marriage” under the old rules. He hopes this approach will minimise disputes between regional heads and their deputies.

Previously, Muhammad Khozin, a member of the House of Representatives Commission II from the National Awakening Party (PKB), proposed that regional elections should only select a head of region, with the deputy appointed directly by the elected head. Khozin argued this would prevent deputies from being used merely as vote-getters.