November 2024 Indonesian local elections

Indonesia began electing regional leaders through direct elections in 2005, and between 2015 and 2020, all regional elections held in the year were held at the same date.^[5] In 2016, a law was passed that made all regional elections starting in 2024 to be held on the same date. As a consequence, regional leaders elected in 2017 and 2018 would be replaced by appointed officials after the end of their term until the 2024 elections are held.^[6] On the other hand, regional leaders elected in 2020 would only serve for less than a full five-year term, ranging from three to four years.^[7] On 24 January 2022, the House of Representatives agreed to set the date of the 2024 local elections at 27 November 2024.^[8]

The elections are regulated by Law No. 10 of 2016 on local elections.^[9]

All candidates are required to be, at a minimum, graduates of senior high school or equivalent. Any approved candidates are required to resign from certain government positions, including legislative offices, Armed Forces/Police positions, civil servants, and employees of state-owned companies. The minimum age is 30 for gubernatorial candidates and 25 for mayor/regent candidates. Furthermore, a two-term limit applies, including for different regions, and former governors/regents/mayors are not allowed to run for vice-leader of their previous position.^[15] On 30 May 2024, the Supreme Court of Indonesia ruled that the age limit applied to the age of the candidates on the date of swearing, in should they win the election (which are expected to take place in 2025^[16]), instead of the registration date of the election.^[17] In particular, this change allowed Kaesang Pangarep, son of the 7th Indonesian President Joko Widodo, to contest gubernatorial elections.^[18] A ruling by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia reverted the criteria, setting the age benchmark to be the date of the official confirmation of candidates.^[19]

The General Elections Commission (KPU) initially noted that legislators newly elected in the 2024 Indonesian legislative election did not need to resign; however, this was later rescinded and elected legislators will also be required to resign.^[20] Candidates can either run as an independent or a party-backed candidate. To run with party backing, the candidate is required to secure the formal support of a party or a coalition of parties that collectively hold at least 20 percent of seats in the relevant Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) or between 6.5 and 10 percent^[b] of votes in the 2024 legislative election in the area, depending on the population.^[22][23][24]

Independent candidates are required to submit photocopies of identity cards as proof of support, numbering between 6.5 and 10 percent of the registered electorate in a given region.^[25] According to KPU, 168 independent candidates nationwide registered, down from 203 who registered for the 2020 elections.^[26] For all gubernatorial elections, eleven pairs of independent candidates registered, of which two pairs are confirmed to have submitted sufficient proof. One of the two resigned, leaving just one pair of independent candidates running for governor (Dharma Pongrekun in Jakarta).^[27]

In total, KPU approved 1,553 pairs of candidates, including 103 gubernatorial tickets, 284 mayoral tickets, and 1,166 regency tickets.^[28] After they had been approved, but prior to the election date, at least five candidates had died, including North Maluku gubernatorial candidate Benny Laos, who died in a speedboat explosion. The other deaths include three vice-gubernatorial candidates (in Aceh, South Papua, and Central Papua) and a vice-regent candidate (in Ciamis, West Java).^[29] A further four tickets were disqualified: one gubernatorial ticket (Southwest Papua), two mayoral tickets (Metro and Banjarbaru), and one regency (Fakfak).^[30]

All local elections in 2024, except for the Jakarta gubernatorial election, follow the first-past-the-post system, where the candidate with the most votes wins the election, even if they do not win a majority. The gubernatorial election for Jakarta requires a runoff if no candidates achieve a simple majority. It is possible for a candidate to run uncontested, in which case the candidate is still required to win a majority of votes "against" an "empty box" option. Should the candidate fail to do so, the election will be repeated on a later date.^[31] There were 37 single-candidate races against "empty box" options in 2024,^[32] and in the Banjarbaru mayoral election, a single-candidate race, as the disqualified alternate candidate's votes were considered invalid.^[33]

To facilitate voter turnout, the date of the election (27 November 2024) was set as a national holiday, with workers receiving overtime pay should they continue to work.^[34]

The Central government's appointment of officials as acting executives due to the election synchronization has been criticized for the lack of transparency, with almost half of Indonesia's regions being governed by the appointees at the time of the election.^[4] KPU's decision to set just five days (8 to 12 May) to allow registration of independent candidates was also criticized for being too short, with a prospective gubernatorial candidate in Jakarta filing a suit with the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) over the decision.^[12]

The ruling by the Supreme Court regarding the eligibility of candidates by age was also criticized for benefiting Kaesang and was compared to a similar decision by the Constitutional Court of Indonesia in the lead-up to the 2024 Indonesian presidential election, which enabled Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Kaesang's older brother, to run as Vice President of Indonesia.^[35]