Community Political Participation at the Election of Regional Head in Indonesia

Abstract

The lack of public participation in the Election of Regional Head (Regent) is a big challenge that must be resolved by the government, especially the General Election Commission (KPU), as happened in the 2014 simultaneous elections. Regional General Election Commission (KPUD) has made various efforts to increase public participation in regent election and minimized the number of abstentions. This study aims to determine the participation of the people of East Java in the election of regents, especially in Bojonegoro Regency in 2018, and in Tuban and Lamongan regencies in 2020, after various efforts were made by the KPU in the regions to increase community participation. The study used a qualitative-descriptive approach; research data were collected through observation, in-depth interviews and document analysis. The results of the study showed that there were increases in public participations in the regent elections, namely, in Bojonegoro Regency by 8%, Tuban Regency by 24%, and Lamongan Regency by 15%; however, none of the vote support for the elected pair reached 50% plus 1. The percentages of participants, from the total voters in the Final Voter List (DPT), were only 28% in Bojonegoro Regency, 25.6% in Tuban Regency, and 32% in Lamongan Regency. There is a concern that this condition may reduce the legitimacy of the authority of the elected pairs; in other words, the elected pairs may not have received adequate public support.