CSIS: Hundreds of Elected Legislative Candidates Indicated to Be Associated with Political Dynasties

If we look at the family relations, the majority of candidates with the possibility of being elected, or 53 candidates, are children of politicians. In second place, there are 30 candidates who are spouses of politicians. Next on the list are siblings of officials (20 candidates), husbands of officials (10 candidates), siblings and nephews of officials (each with 7 candidates), and other categories but still relatives, with a total of 11 candidates.

Also read: Recurring Political Dynasties and Corruption

Not only that, CSIS also tracks the number of female legislative candidates who have a high chance of being elected and their connection to political dynasties. Of the number of female candidates with high potential, 127 were selected, 58 of whom were associated with dynastic politics.

If viewed based on the political parties, the greatest percentage associated with political dynasties comes from PDI-P, namely 16 out of 27 candidates with a high chance of being elected. Then Gerindra (11 out of 19 candidates) and Nasdem (12 out of 21 candidates).

As a note, the number of candidates with a high chance of being elected is calculated by converting the vote count to seats in the DPR based on the Sainte Lague method, in accordance with the Election Law. The KPU has not yet appointed elected members of the DPR as they are still waiting for the completion of the dispute settlement process for the 2024 Legislative Election (Pileg) at the Constitutional Court.

Also read: Accepting the KPU's Determination, Prabowo Invites All Parties to Work Together

In response to the many candidates for the DPR who are suspected to be associated with political dynasties, one of the CSIS initiators, Jusuf Wanandi, does not question it as long as the election of these candidates occurs naturally.

"If it arises naturally in politics, there is no problem. But if the rise is manipulated by their relatives who hold political positions, it becomes a disease. That's why we shouldn't let it turn into a wrong political dynasty," he added.

Meanwhile, Head of the Politics and Social Change Department at CSIS Arya Fernandes emphasized the importance of political will from the elites to push for politics that are equal for all, especially in increasing the representation of young politicians, women, and politicians who come from ordinary people to be able to run and be elected in elections.

Also read: Female Legislative Candidates Penetrate the Legislature, Between Militancy and Privilege

In addition, the electoral system also needs to ensure balance and political equality between groups in society so that elected members of parliament at least approximate the population's character.

Another important thing, according to Arya, is the need for an evaluation of the implementation of the open proportional system which has been running for 25 years.

"A comprehensive evaluation is particularly important to assess the effectiveness of the system in increasing political representation of young people and women, as well as enhancing political representation between representatives and constituents," he added.