Assessing The Pros And Cons Of The Asymmetric Election System A La Tito Karnavian

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian (Mery Handayani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Home Affairs, Tito Karnavian, is reviewing several alternative options, based on the results of his evaluation of the regional head election process or the direct Pilkada. One of the options put forward was the implementation of regional head elections by returning them to the asymmetric DPRD or Pilkada.

This proposal is now a controversy, because it is felt that it will change the election system that has been going on so far. In fact, the method proposed by the Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian regarding his proposal to restore the regional head election process by the DPRD has been rolled out at the DPR RI Plenary Session, September 24, 2014 ago.

In 2014, the DPR was said to have agreed on the discourse that a regional head should be elected from the DPRD. But unfortunately this was canceled through the Perppu issued by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"The suggestion is said to be based on reasons of high cost, potential conflicts caused by direct regional head elections which are considered not guaranteeing the emergence of a good regional head," wrote Sri Nuryati in his scientific journal entitled 'Intervention for Pemilukada Implementation: Regulation, Resources and Execution', in 2015 ago.

This has also been supported by data from the Director General for Regional Autonomy of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, since 2013. There were 954 pairs of regional heads both in provinces and districts / cities who were elected, but then they were caught in legal problems. This was the basis for the Ministry of Home Affairs to rearrange the direct post-conflict local election mechanism at that time.

Talking about asymmetrical elections is also not new in Indonesia, because there have been several regions that have used this mechanism to elect their regional heads. At least, there are three regions that implement a different election system compared to other regions, namely DKI Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Aceh.

Differences in direct and asymmetric local election systems can arise because a region has certain characteristics such as specificity in administrative, cultural or other strategic aspects. Political observer Siti Zuhro explained, in general, asymmetrical elections are a process of direct regional head elections and are governed by regions independently. So it is different from the regional elections in other regions.

"Asymmetrical Pilkada means that it refers to the regions that can conduct direct regional elections through DPRD with various new requirements," Zuhro said when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, November 20.

According to Zuhro, the asymmetrical pilkada cannot be interpreted as meaning that the regional elections can be of higher quality. According to him, it is more about regional autonomy. "Especially in Papua, West Papua, specifically in Aceh, specifically for DKI Jakarta, there is something special in Yogyakarta. It is asymmetrical centralized," he explained.

Zuhro assessed that the asymmetrical elections were like honey and poison. It can be positive if the community's political enlightenment education is sufficient. So that the community can play a more active role. "It is ineffective, only belongs to the elite. Accuntable can also be accounted for. It should be like that," said Zuhro.

On the other hand, it can be bad when the people's political reasoning has not been developed. "So what happens is there is vote buying (money politics) instead of active participation," he concluded.

The same thing was also expressed by the expert on constitutional law, Denny Indrayana, who said that direct, indirect or asymmetrical elections were only options from the regional head election system provided by law.

"Indeed, if we talk about regional elections, it is directly or indirectly possible by means of the constitution. The language of the constitution is democratically elected. So, that is the choice of law-making politics," he said as quoted by Antara, Thursday, November 21.

He added that what needs to be underlined about the regional head election system is the principle of honesty and fairness (Jurdil) and the process without money politics, so that there are no corrupt practices. "Either direct or indirect elections, the potential for money politics is there. So, how can we minimize it. Where is it going? Yes, we will leave it to the legislators."

The Minister of Home Affairs gave a speech at the # RakornasPusatDanForkopimda2019 # SinergiIndonesiaMaju # 5PrioritasPembangunan # LimaVisiIndonesiaMaju # Kemendagri # Infokemendagri # BersamaIndonesiaMaju pic.twitter.com/LulQgcgD1m event

- Ministry of Home Affairs (@kemendagri) November 13, 2019

Asymmetric Pilkada Practices

The regional head election model using an asymmetric system is actually not new in Indonesia. For example, DKI Jakarta did not elect a mayor, while Yogyakarta did not elect a governor, and the city of Aceh with the presence of local political parties.

- DKI Jakarta

In general, the implementation of the pilkada in DKI Jakarta is different from other provinces, the administrative city in Jakarta does not conduct the pilkada. The only pilkada held in Jakarta is the election for the governor.

The specialty of Jakarta is regulated in Law Number 29 of 2007 concerning Provincial Government of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta as the Capital of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. In accordance with Article 10 of the Law, in running the government, the governor is assisted by the deputy governor who is elected directly through the general elections for regional heads and deputy regional heads.

The mechanism for the appointment of a mayor is regulated in Article 19 of Law Number 29 of 2007 concerning the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta. These positions can be filled with civil servants appointed by the governor at the discretion of the DPRD.

- Aceh

The implementation of the pilkada in Aceh is also different from the election mechanism in other regions. This is because Aceh Province has the right to have local political parties, as stipulated in Law Number 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of Aceh.

The existence of this local political party is inseparable from the agreement that was established between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, Finland, on August 15, 2005. In the implementation of the 2019 Election, there were four Acehnese local parties that participated in the contest. They are the Aceh Party, the Sira Party, the Aceh Regional Party and the Nanggroe Aceh Party.

- Yogyakarta

The special region of Yogyakarta is arguably the opposite of the regional election mechanism in DKI Jakarta. This is because Yogyakarta is still holding direct regional elections for regent and mayor positions. However, there is no process for selecting the governor.

This is because the position of governor and deputy governor has been strictly regulated in Law Number 13 of 2012 concerning the Privileges of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, which states that DIY has a special form and structure of government. So that the positions of governor and deputy governor must be held by a Sultan Hamengkubuwono and Adipati Paku Alam.