2005–2014 local elections in Indonesia

Direct local elections (Indonesian: Pemilihan Kepala Daerah) were held unsimultaneously throughout Indonesia to elect governors, mayor, and regents between 2005 and 2014. In total, nearly 1,000 such elections were held within a nine-year period. Prior to 2005, local executive offices were elected by vote of members of the local Regional House of Representatives.

Summary

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During the Suharto presidency, executive officials including the President of Indonesia and regional leaders were elected by members of legislatures.[1] For regional leaders, this amounted to a vote by the relevant Regional House of Representatives (DPRD). In practice, due to the dominance of the ruling party Golkar, regional leaders were effectively central government appointees. After the fall of Suharto, the national House of Representatives passed a law in 2004 which mandated direct elections of local leaders.[2] The law also set that election dates for the regional leaders would be set by the respective regions, with terms of leaders expiring in December 2004 – April 2005 being extended to May 2005.[3]

In order for the local elections to not interfere with the 2009 Indonesian legislative election, no local elections were held in 2009.[4] In 2014, the gubernatorial election for Lampung province was held simultaneously with the 2014 Indonesian legislative election, delayed from its initial schedule of 2013.[5] The separate elections were criticized for their high cost – in 2010, a regency/city election typically cost the government around Rp 10 billion while a provincial election cost around Rp 70 billion. The total expense of the elections in 2010 nationally was comparable to the total available funding for the Ministry of Social Affairs.[6] The high cost for the candidates were also blamed for increasing corruption, with over 170 local leaders being arrested or investigated for corruption in 2004 to 2012.[6]

Nearly 1,000 local elections were held between 2005 and 2013, averaging around one election every three days.[6] Afterwards, in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2020, all local elections in the same year are held simultaneously nationwide[7] and, starting in 2024, all local elections nationwide are held simultaneously.[8] Prior to this, some provinces had already synchronized their gubernatorial and city/regency elections, such as Aceh in 2012.[9]

Elections

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Year Provincial Regency/City Total
2005[3] 7 189 196
2006[3] 4 68 72
2007[10] 4 37 41
2008[11] 13 140 153
2009 No local elections were held in 2009[4]
2010[12] 7 167 174
2011[13] 5 110 115
2012[13] 5 72 77
2013[13] 14 135 149
2014[5] 1 0 1
Total 60 918 978

Notable elections

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Gubernatorial

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Mayoral/Regency

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References

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  1. ^ "INDONESIA: Local Elections". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. ^ Erb, Maribeth; Sulistiyanto, Priyambudi (2009). Deepening Democracy in Indonesia?: Direct Elections for Local Leaders (Pilkada). Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 38–40. ISBN 978-981-230-841-2.
  3. ^ a b c Erb & Sulistiyanto 2009, p. 56.
  4. ^ a b "Pilkada Jatim Bikin Ruwet Pemilu 2009". Hukum Online (in Indonesian). 7 December 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Jangan Golput Di Pilgub Lampung". Antara News Lampung (in Indonesian). 9 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Pilkada serentak, solusi efisiensi biaya". Antara News (in Indonesian). 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Pilkada Serentak di Indonesia". Kompas (in Indonesian). 8 December 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ^ "KPU gelar Pilkada Serentak 2024 di 37 provinsi dan 508 kabupaten/kota". Antara News (in Indonesian). 1 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Pilkada Aceh Digelar Serentak Hari Ini". detiknews (in Indonesian). 9 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Data Hasil Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Tahun 2007" (in Indonesian). General Elections Commission. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Data Hasil Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Tahun 2008" (in Indonesian). General Elections Commission. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Data Hasil Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Tahun 2010" (in Indonesian). General Elections Commission. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Untung Rugi Pilkada Langsung dan Dipilih oleh DPRD (in Indonesian). Tempo Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 978-623-339-431-4.