Electoral Punishment for the Moral Standards of Officials and Politicians

JAKARTA - In the practice of democracy in any country, in fact, the theory of accountability and selection of types can describe the behavior of voters alias voters. Both theories are influenced by violations of the behavior of politicians which result in electoral punishment or a surge in voters.

Accountability theory states that elections remove bad performers, whereastype selection theory states that politicians who do not represent a (large)group will be removed.

In a paper entitled "Corruption, Scandals and Incompetence: Do Voters Care" published in the European Journal of Political Economy, September 2023, Harm Rienks examines the impact of various forms of behavioral violations by Dutch regional government politicians on their party's vote acquisition.

The results show that incidents that reveal politicians' political incompetence are detrimental to their parties by 1.5 percentage points of vote acquisition, or about 10 percent of their voters. Incidents that reveal politicians as a figure different from their public image (e.g., scandals) have similar losses. Incidents that reveal both simultaneously (e.g., corruption) are detrimental to the party almost twice as much, namely 3 percentage points.

"The results of the study show that the accountability theory and the type selection theory are equally important in explaining voter behavior and show that there may be additional punishment when both theories predict negative effects," explained Rienks.

He gave an example, in 2013, a council member from the Orthodox Christian Party in the city of Barneveld resigned after an alleged extramarital affair was revealed to the public. Despite this scandal, his party received 7 percent more votes in the next election.

In the same year, a council member from the Christian Party in the city of Boxmeer resigned after initially receiving a €3000 (cash) gift from the project developer. In the subsequent elections, his party lost 5 percent of the vote.

Rienks revealed that the results of his research clearly showed that Dutch voters punished parties whose politicians showed incompetence or were involved in scandals or corruption incidents. "This research also shows that scandals and corruption are severely punished in countries with a proportional representation system, many parties, and semi-open candidate lists.

Annemarie S Walter and David P Redlawsk in a paper titled "The Effects of Politician's Moral Violations on Voters' Moral Emotions" published October 2021, explain that in politics, moral violations by politicians often dominate the news when they are revealed. However, in the United States, such violations may be less impactful than before, at least in some contexts.

For many Americans, Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court despite credible claims about his prior behavior highlights this new reality. By contrast, not long before the Kavanaugh hearings, Democratic Senator Al Franken was forced to resign amid sexual harassment allegations. More recently, newly elected Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill resigned from her post amid a sex scandal.

"In general and historically, moral violations that have led to political scandals have led to a decline in voter evaluations of candidates and their trust in politicians, the political system, and politics in general," one of the conclusions in the paper said.

Moral Corruption Has Significant and Complex Influence

So, what about in Indonesia? In 2013, PKS was hit by two incidents at once, namely the corruption allegations and the sex scandal that befell their president at that time, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq. Ahead of the 2014 election, Luthfi was sentenced to 16 years in prison for bribery and money laundering related to the import of beef. Not only that, during the investigation, there were also sex scandals and marriages with underage girls involving Luthfi and his close friend Ahmad Fathanah. As a result, PKS's vote acquisition plunged in the 2014 election. They only won 6.79 percent of the national vote, down from 7.88 percent in the 2009 election.

The anomaly actually occurred in the case of Golkar Party politician Yahya Zaini. In 2006, the 61-year-old politician had stumbled on a pornography scandal with peddlers Maria Eva while still a member of the 2004-2009 DPR. Yahya then decided to resign from the DPR and did not contest in the 2014 election.

But, when he ran for a member of the DPR in the 2019 and 2024 elections, Yahya actually received the trust of voters in the East Java VIII Electoral District (Jombang Regency, Nganjuk Regency, Mojokerto City and Madiun City), with 73,600 and 58,066 votes. In addition to being elected as a member of the DPR, Yahya Zaini was also appointed by the General Chairman of the Golkar Party, Bahlil Lahadalia, as the Head of the DPP for the Organization of the DPP Golkar Party 2024-2029.

Regarding the differences in voter behavior in developed countries and Indonesia, UGM political expert Mada Sukmajati argues that moral scandals have a significant and complex influence on elections in Indonesia. Although ethical and moral violations can damage the image of politicians and reduce public support, the impact is not always uniform and often depends on cultural context, type of scandal, and public reaction.

According to him, the Indonesian people, especially in areas with strong religious and moral norms such as West Java, have a sensitive sentiment towards issues of morality such as honesty, anti-corruption, and courtesy. Violations of these norms can cause public dislike and hinder a figure's political career.

"Scandals involving public figures, such as affairs or corruption, are often the target of media and public criticism, which can effectively end or hinder their efforts to return to the main stage of politics," he said.

In addition, moral decadence among political elites can threaten social welfare by fostering deep distrust of the government and legal institutions.

But on the other hand, the attitude (culture) of forgiveness of the community which is still strong makes that even though there are negative sentiments, politicians who are involved in scandals can still regain support or remain in their political careers, depending on how they handle the crisis and other factors.

"The biggest problem is certainly the electoral sanctions that are not firm. Although there are clear violations of morals and ethics, the sanctions given are sometimes considered too light, and the candidates who benefit from the violations may remain safe," added Mada.

"Overall, moral scandals create significant electoral risks for politicians. The effects tend to be negative, but the end result depends very much on how voters react, how strong the moral norms in the region are, and how the politician in question manages the crisis of confidence," he concluded.

Meanwhile, political observer Rocky Gerung emphasized that it was time for voters in Indonesia to prioritize the aspect of morality and ethics in choosing. According to him, politicians who are eligible to be elected as public officials are those who do not have problems with ethics and morals. "Currently, the morality of Indonesian officials is very low, because they think too much about electability and forget ethics and morals," he added.

Punishment and the typology of the voter

Political observer Ubedilah Badrun assessed that it was difficult to implement electoral punishmen (punishment from voters) in Indonesia because it was caused by at least six types of voters. First, traditional voters (traditional Voter), where this type has a traditional relationship with election contestants with caleg and political parties.

"They have cultural ties, social ties, value ties, even ideological ties. This type of voter tends to consistently choose one party from generation to generation. They are often also used as the traditional base of certain parties," he said.

Second, the subjective voter, who determines the choice because they have an emotional relationship with the contestants, especially with certain candidates or popular figures. This voter subjectivity occurs because the contestants have stolen the attention of the voters with subjective elements of the contestants' authority, both designed and natural.

Third, pragmatic voters, who make a choice because of pragmatic considerations, which benefits them is the party or candidate caleg who is chosen. "Pragmatic voters are usually dominant because the current trend of liberal political practices has nurtured a transactional political pattern," added Ubed.

Fourth, the skeptical voter, who doubts all parties, they do not consider the importance of party differences, including not considering the importance of political party ideology. They also do not believe that the party will really fight for their interests. Fifth, the ideological voter (ideologic voter) who determines the choice because of the compatibility of his ideology with the ideology of the party he chooses.

"This type of voter has two categories, namely the category of their core members of political parties. As core members, of course, they have gone through a long process of ideologization so that when choosing, he does it because of his ideological spirit. The second category is the general public but has a strong ideological understanding. His ideological perspective leads him to make a choice," explained Ubed.

Sixth, rational voters (rational voters) who determine their choices because of rational considerations. They study various things about the candidates and political parties they will choose. "They study the visions and missions and programs of the candidates and political parties. Rationality works to determine the right choice for him. They also study the track record of the candidates and political parties to be chosen," said Ubed.