Indonesia holds simultaneous local elections, an important step towards democracy
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesians voted yesterday in the country's first simultaneous nationwide local elections. Tens of millions of voters went to the polls to elect new governors, regency chiefs and mayors in the country’s 32 provinces, 264 regencies and 224 districts.
Simultaneous local elections (Pemilihan kepala daerah) are new for Indonesians, who used to vote separately in each province, regency and city.
Many feared that terror attacks might cause problems to the election process; however, the successful completion represents an important step forward in the country’s democratisation.
Most provinces went to the poll, except for DKI Jakarta, Nanggroe and Aceh Darussalam, which enjoy a special status. Here, voting will take place at a later date under distinct rules. Sharia-ruled Aceh for example is set to go to the poll in February 2017. For local elections to take place on the same day, Indonesians will have to wait until 2027,
President Joko Widodo’s decision to hold the vote on the same day to cut costs was “courageous”. No incident were recorded yesterday, a Catholic source told AsiaNews. “This is a sign that democracy in Indonesia is catching on quickly, wherever participation is practiced, recommended and encouraged."
This time, the election campaign was more peaceful than usual, because of public funding of campaign advertising costs.
For now, results have not been released, nor winners proclaimed. In fact, vote counting will not take place at polling stations, but in district capitals so as to reduce possible rigging, a problem that plagued the country in the past.
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