Acting Regional Heads

The saga of the appointment of acting regional heads has bitter consequences and is a turning point for regional autonomy and democracy that is difficult to restore. All of this can be a negative legacy of the regime.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

Azyumardi Azra

”Government is best which is closest to the people. Yet that belief is betrayed by those state and local officials who engage in denying the right of citizens to vote.” Lyndon B Johnson,Former US President 1963-1969.

Former United States President Lyndon B Johnson is right in the context of Indonesia today. If the best government anywhere -- including in Indonesia -- is the one closest to the people, on the other hand, this trust is not infrequently betrayed by central and local government officials. In the Indonesian context, betrayal occurs in the refusal of citizens' right to vote in the pilkada (direct regional head elections), according to Law Number 32 of 2004 on regional government, which should be held in 2022 and 2023.

The government's decision with the House of Representatives (DPR) to abolish the regional elections in 2022 and 2023 is controversial because Article 18 Paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution regulates 'democratic' regional head elections, not appointment by the central government.

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The regional elections that are supposed to take place in 2022 and 2023 have been postponed until the simultaneous national elections on Nov. 27, 2024. The governors whose terms of office end in 2022 and 2023 are replaced by governors who are appointed by the president, while regents/mayors are delegated to an official appointed by the Home Minister. As a result, many of these acting regional heads have been in power for more than two years so that they seem to be 'permanent officials'.

By appointing acting regional heads, the central government takes over the succession of formal regional leadership, which since June 2005 has been elected in regional elections. The winner of the regional election gets the people's sovereignty with strong legitimacy. Meanwhile, the acting regional head does not have people's sovereignty because of the appointment by the central government or in other words, does not have the legitimacy of the regional head winning the election.

Ignoring people's sovereignty and the legitimacy of governing power, on May 15, the central government will appoint acting regional heads to replace outgoing regional heads. In 2022, the government will appoint seven governors, 76 regent and 18 mayors (101 regional heads), and in 2023, it will appoint an additional 17 governors, 115 regents and 38 mayors (170 in total). These 271 regional heads whose terms of office end in 2022 and 2023 comprise more than half (50.9 percent) of the total 541 regional heads elected in regional elections. According to the calculation of regional autonomy expert Djohermansyah Djohan, 271 acting regional heads control 243,992,959 citizens or around 90 percent of Indonesia's population (Kompas, 23/4/2022).

The appointment of acting regional heads, according to the writer, is a setback for Indonesian democracy -- both re-centralization and de-autonomy, because the central government concedes a lot of authority to local governments and regional heads as a result of the regional elections (Kompas, 2/12/2021).

This setback in regional autonomy can no longer be reversed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. The reason is that 271 acting regional heads along with 270 other regional heads will be elected simultaneously in the elections on Nov. 2, 2024. On this date, Jokowi will no longer be president because his term of office officially ends on Oct. 20, 2024, when the new president and vice president, to be chosen in the Feb. 4, 2024 election, will be sworn in by the MPR.

From the perspective of regional autonomy, which has been running relatively well since 2005 with the implementation of Law No. 32/2004 (revised into Law No. 12/2008) on Regional Government, the appointment of acting regional heads clearly betrays regional autonomy. Recentralization or de-autonomy of regions with acting regional heads has serious implications for the sustainability and effectiveness of local governments. The acting regional heads have a great potential to cause commotion in the regional government and regional bureaucracy. They may also not be impartial to political forces or political oligarchy at the center and in the regions ahead of the 2024 General Election and regional elections. Citing a poll of Kompas research and development division, more than half of respondents are not sure that the appointment of acting regional heads is free from political interest (Kompas, 18/4/2022).

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In anticipation of the appointment of the acting regional heads, there is an increase in gossip and lobbying of individuals, groups of people and political parties to 'win' certain candidates. There is no government transparency; there are also unclear regulations regarding the requirements for candidates for office. Kompas daily has repeatedly published investigative reports, opinion poll and editorials reminding the government and various related parties to be careful in determining the figures who will be appointed as officials, especially regarding meritocracy and competence.

This unfavorable situation must be immediately addressed by the government by fully complying with the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the acting regional heads which was read out on Wednesday (20/4/2022), even though the time is limited. The Constitutional Court ordered the government to issue a clear regulation on filling regional heads with government civil servants (ASN). The Constitutional Court emphasized that active members of the Indonesian Military (TNI)-National Police (Polri) could not be appointed as acting regional heads. The government must also be transparent and involve stakeholders, civil society and advocacy groups for regional autonomy and democracy.

The saga of the appointment of acting regional heads has bitter consequences and is a turning point for regional autonomy and democracy that is difficult to restore. All of this can be a negative legacy of the ruling regime.

AZYUMARDI AZRA, History professor Syarif Hidayatullah, State Islamic University (UIN); Member of the Cultural Commission, the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI)

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.