The rise of political dynasties in decentralized Indonesia.

Abstract

The existence of local political dynasties in decentralized Indonesia has sparked controversies. Dynastic politics is contradictory to the initial spirit of the Reformasi, it potentially undermines the democratic consolidation process in the country and raises questions regarding the domination of the oligarchs in the post-Suharto Indonesian political landscape. Consequently, the Indonesian government is now proposing the anti-dynastic clause in the newly proposed Regional Election Bill to prevent the emergence of local political dynasties. This paper argues that there are three contributing factors to the rise of regional political dynasties in Indonesia,

namely weak party institutionalization, deficient electoral law implementation and a 'personalistic' mindset among the voters when choosing leaders. These factors create a hospitable environment for the emergence of political dynasties in Indonesia. The real issue lies not with the identity of the participants in direct local elections, but the process by which election-relation institutions institutionalize the mechanism of free and fair elections. Thus, efforts to combat political dynasties should be focused on how to overcome the fundamental issues rather than on creating a shortsighted

solution that prohibits dynastic politicians from running in a subsequent period of elections.