Incumbency Advantage as a Basis of Party Coalition in Regional Heads Candidate Selection

Abstract

Studies on the incumbency advantage have proven that incumbents remain strong candidates in the elections. However, these studies focused more on the incumbent figures as the main capital in winning votes. This article analyzes the incumbency advantage from different perspective as the basis for the formation of parties coalitions in local elections. Using a qualitative method, this article compares three regions in West Java, namely City of Cimahi, City of Tasikmalaya, and Regency of Bekasi to show how incumbent use their advantages in influencing the dynamics of candidate selection within political parties, especially in determining who will become their vice mayor/regent and mobilization strategies during the campaign period. Data is collected through in-depth interview with parties’ elites who were involved in candidate selection. Although not all incumbents in the three regions won, but the results of this research proved the dominance of incumbent in the formation of party coalitions due to their structural position in the party and their access to public resources. This finding confirms the importance of criticizing the practice of transactional politics in selecting the candidates in a figure-based political era.