Single Candidate Regional Election System No Guarantee of Harmony, Says Expert
The discourse on changing regional head elections to a single-candidate system is considered unlikely to solve the problem of disharmony between regional heads and their deputies. The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) sees the issue as more profound, relating to the poor cadre development and candidate selection processes of political parties, which have produced candidate pairs without aligned visions.
Perludem researcher Kahfi Adlan Hafiz stated that changing the election mechanism, whether through a package, separate, or single system, does not automatically guarantee the emergence of regional head pairs capable of working harmoniously. “The lack of clarity in duties and disharmonisation is fundamentally caused more by an instant process of cadre development and candidacy,” he said in a statement quoted on Monday (10/8).
The statement was made in response to a proposal by a member of Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the end of July 2026. The proposal suggested changing regional head elections to a single election model, where the public would still directly elect the regional head, but the deputy regional head would no longer be elected as a running mate and would instead be appointed.
This idea emerged partly because the position of deputy regional head has been deemed to lack sufficiently clear authority. In regional government practice, the deputy often merely acts as an assistant to the regional head and awaits instructions, except when the regional head is temporarily or permanently unable to serve. The problem subsequently developed into a working relationship issue, with disharmony between regional heads and their deputies reported in many areas. During a coordination meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs, it was even linked to data suggesting that nearly 60 per cent of regional head and deputy regional head relationships across Indonesia are not harmonious.
However, according to Kahfi, this fact cannot simply be used as a reason to change the election design. The chosen system must first be assessed for its compatibility with the institutional model of regional government. Regional heads and deputy regional heads are part of political offices born from the implementation of decentralisation and regional autonomy. Therefore, if the principle of direct public participation is to be maintained, the highest leader in a region must still obtain a mandate through direct election.
On the other hand, Perludem does not view the single election system as an entirely impossible idea. The model of a directly elected regional head with an appointed deputy is known in several countries, particularly in the election of mayor-level officials. One example is the election of the Mayor of New York in the United States. However, the implementation of this system is supported by different political and institutional conditions, where the regional head has greater flexibility in running the government. In fact, the deputy position can be filled by more than one person through an appointment mechanism based on expertise.
These conditions do not yet fully align with Indonesia, where regional governments still have considerable dependence on the central government in carrying out various governmental affairs. Therefore, changing the election mechanism cannot be separated from the context of central-regional relations. Kahfi also cautioned that political maturity at the regional level is an important factor if the mechanism for appointing deputy regional heads is to be considered. The system is not a taboo choice, but it must have a strong basis of study. Without political maturity, the authority to determine deputy regional heads could be feared to turn into a new space for distributing public offices.
“Do not let low political maturity turn the system of appointing deputy regional heads into a new loophole for the practice of distributing public offices,” said Kahfi. Perludem assesses that the main problem does not stop at how the pair of regional head and deputy is elected. The pre-election process, particularly how political parties prepare cadres and determine candidates, is also crucial in determining the quality of governance after the pair is elected.
So far, the cadre development and candidacy processes within political parties are considered not to have been carried out maturely. Coalitions are also still often built with the primary orientation of winning the contest, rather than based on programme similarity or ideological closeness. As a result, the regional head and deputy regional head pairs emerging from this process do not always share the same political direction. Differences in vision and mission can occur not only between the regional head and their deputy, but also between the pair and the programmes of the political parties supporting them.
Therefore, changes to the election system must be positioned as part of a broader reform. Changing the election mechanism without improving political recruitment is feared to merely change the form of the problem without touching its root cause. Perludem also urged that this discourse not be decided solely based on experience or impressions of the regional election practice so far. Changing the design of regional head elections requires in-depth study, including an evaluation of the implementation of previous general and regional elections.
“Based on these notes, Perludem assesses that the discourse on changing the regional head election system must not be based merely on feelings and observations alone, but requires in-depth study through a legislative process based on theory and evaluation of the implementation of previous elections and regional elections,” Kahfi explained. On that basis, lawmakers are urged to immediately discuss the revision of the Election Law and the Regional Election Law simultaneously. This step is considered important so that changes to the regional head election system are not carried out partially, but are based on a comprehensive evaluation.