UNS — Constitutional Law (HTN) Expert Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Dr. Sunny Ummul Firdaus, states that the requirements for independent candidates to compete at regional elections (Pilkada) is quite burdensome. To review the effort made by independent candidates, Dr. Sunny takes two approaches, the juridical and empirical point of view. From the juridical point of view, Dr. Sunny considers that there is an administrative requirement that requires individual candidates to earn the support of the community at a predetermined minimum amount. Meanwhile, from an empirical point of view, independent candidates must have great economic power or a huge budget for rallying.
“At the current social condition, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, there are many needs that must be fulfilled. Thus, the cost is quite high for those who do not have great financial support, thus it will be difficult to advance in a Regional election,” Dr. Sunny states.
The difficulty to fulfill the requirement for an independent candidate, according to Dr. Sunny, is due to the strong dominance of Political Parties (Parpol) in a region. It is no longer a secret that Political Parties often attract regional head candidates who have a high level of electability to be contested in the Pilkada. “In several regions, the political power is equal among the contested parties, while in other regions the distribution may be dominated by a political party. The distribution for an independent candidate is small, for instance, to gain 35,000 support is difficult unless the parties in the region are dormant,” explain Dr. Sunny.
When asked whether it is possible to revise the regulations, Dr. Sunny request the society to first understand the spirit mandated in the regional election (Pilkada). Further, she states that a good election must synergize the regional heads with voters to make the progress of development in the region a success. Hence, the community will feel involved in every government program and the regional head also has sovereignty. Revising the regulation to facilitate independent candidates during the registration, Dr. Sunny considers that it will need further discussion with the House of Representative (DPR). This process will be affected by the Political Parties in the DPR, especially if the Parties are worried that their existence will be disrupted if independent candidates are facilitated when advancing in Pilkada. “If independent candidates are facilitated during the registration process, it will reduce the political parties’ existence. However, this is required if we want to fully achieve sovereignty of local communities to create sustainable development,” Dr. Sunny said.
Dr. Sunny who currently serves as the Chief of Democracy and National Resilience Study Center (Pusdemtanas), Institute for Research and Community Engagement (LPPM) UNS, considers that the presence of independent candidates in the Pilkada can have its benefit. “Of the many qualified people if they are given the opportunity to advance as independent candidates, it will create interesting competition and various options for the community,” she concluded the phone interview on Wednesday (2/9/2020). Humas UNS
Reporter: Yefta Christopherus AS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
