The Southeast Sulawesi gubernatorial election contest will be fierce without the incumbent

The Democratic Party is the first to open the candidate recruitment for governor and deputy governor of Southeast Sulawesi. Since the end of March, there have been several names who have taken and returned the registration forms. The Chairman of the Democratic Party DPD in Southeast Sulawesi, Muhammad Endang SA, stated that he has received nine names who have taken the registration forms, and four of them have already returned the forms.

"Of course, these names will be examined and thoroughly studied regarding their vision, mission, electability, and other factors. The results will be submitted to the DPP. As usual, recommendations usually do not come from those who register," said Endang on Monday (29/4/2024).

The Southeast Sulawesi gubernatorial election will be fierce as there is no incumbent candidate. The names in circulation have the same opportunity. However, Endang hopes that all candidates will prioritize competition based on the program. In this way, a dialectic occurs based on thought, not just feelings or money.

"If I put it in terms, the candidate must have points, joints and coins. This point is related to the vision and mission, jointly including networking and track record, and coins are resources to finance candidacy, where we know the costs of politics are very expensive . "And, I hope that the quality of our contestants will prioritize programs and platforms to give birth to positive dialectics in society in the future," he added.

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Must be a coalition

The Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Science at Halu Oleo University, Eka Syuaib, revealed that currently, all candidates are focused on finding a way to become contestants in the upcoming Southeast Sulawesi gubernatorial election. They are actively lobbying in several parties to obtain the minimum recommendation. Based on the requirements of the previous election, the candidate pairs must have a minimum of nine seats in the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Representatives Council (DPRD).

"So far, no party is able to nominate their own candidate. They must form a coalition. The coalition can take two forms. First, through a presidential election model, and second, based on dynamics in certain regions. This is still very fluid," he said.

Based on the recapitulation of the Sultra KPU, Nasdem Party is the winner of the legislative elections in Sultra with six seats, along with PDI-P and Golkar Party. Next, Gerindra Party obtained five seats, followed by Democratic Party, PKS, and PBB which all won four seats. Then, PKB, PAN, and PPP each won three seats. The last position is held by Hanura Party, which obtained one seat.

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According to Eka, all coalitions and names that are circulating are still very likely to occur. Moreover, the absence of an incumbent ensures that all candidates have an equal opportunity.

"For recommendation letters, their stocks are in each respective party's Central Executive Committee. And the party will carefully calculate, especially since Sultra is a potential area with high natural resources. Therefore, we must continue to encourage the contest based on programs in the future. So that we know the contestants' plans for our region," he said.

Contacted separately, an academic from Muhammadiyah University Kendari, Andi Awaluddin Ma'ruf, revealed that so far several names have shown seriousness in the upcoming regional election. Most of them are big names who have been familiar in the political arena of Southeast Sulawesi.

We must continue to encourage this battle of ideas in the future in order to create a discourse among voters.

According to several surveys, all prospective candidates have almost equal chances. There is no dominant name that controls electability in the ongoing surveys.

In addition to the character, he said that it is also necessary to have a figure who is well-known to the general public. Sociocultural factors become important because the community's attachment to the candidate is still very strong.

” Sociological Mapping will still play a role. For example, mainland and island areas, immigrants or not. "That is the current political reality," he said.

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In general, voters can be divided into two major groups, namely traditional and rational voters. Traditional voters will choose based on cultural and emotional closeness, while rational voters will choose based on the programs and work plans offered.

However, beyond all that, one determining factor is the programs offered later on. In several surveys, voters tend to be very interested in programs that directly touch the voters at the grassroots level. This will have a significant correlation with electability.

"And we must continue to encourage this battle of ideas in the future in order to create discourse among voters," he said.