Indonesia weighs scrapping direct local elections, sparking fears of democratic backsliding

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia’s parliament is considering ending direct elections for local leaders, a move analysts say would shift power from voters back to the political elite.

The proposal to abolish direct votes for governors, mayors, and regents has gained strong support within President Prabowo Subianto’s ruling coalition. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is currently the only member of the coalition to publicly oppose the change.

Direct local elections were implemented nationwide in 2005 as a pillar of the democratic reforms that followed the three-decade rule of former leader Suharto.

President Prabowo has argued that returning to an indirect election system is a practical solution to cut costs and reduce vote-buying.

However, the plan faces significant public opposition. A Litbang Kompas survey released Jan. 12 showed that 77.3% of the population wants to maintain direct elections.

While formal parliamentary discussions are expected to begin mid-year, analysts believe the return to an indirect election system is nearly certain.

JAKARTA — The Prabowo administration’s justification for abolishing direct local elections (pilkada)—framed as a necessary step to curb corruption and reduce fiscal overhead—is failing to gain traction among independent analysts. Rather than a genuine effort to improve governance, the move appears to be a strategic consolidation of power by the country’s political establishment.

The proposal fails to address the systemic drivers of Indonesia’s high election costs and endemic vote-buying. These issues are rooted in internal party dynamics, weak campaign finance regulations, and inconsistent enforcement, rather than the mechanism of direct suffrage itself. Transitioning to an indirect system, where local legislatures select regional heads, is unlikely to eliminate graft. Instead, it risks merely shifting corruption from the public eye into smoke-filled rooms. By transferring the mandate of local leaders from the electorate to lawmakers, the administration risks fostering an environment of "money politics" and executive-legislative collusion.

This shift marks a significant retreat from the democratic milestones of the post-Suharto Reformasi era. It dismantles the primary mechanism of accountability: the direct relationship between the voter and the leader. Without the ability to reward or penalize officials at the ballot box, the public loses its most potent tool for oversight. Beyond the risk of democratic backsliding, the move threatens to revive the patronage and cronyism of the past, potentially undermining fiscal transparency and the long-term quality of public policy.