POTENTIAL FRAUD AND VIOLENCE IN PAPUA’S APPROACHING ELECTIONS

[Jakarta, 15 November 2024] Indonesian voters will go to the polls on 27 November to choose their provincial governors and district heads, and nowhere is likely be more tense than Papua. Indonesia’s easternmost region was carved up into six provinces in 2022, and four of them will be choosing local executives for the first time. Local elections in Papua are often problematic because of difficulties with logistics, corruption, lack of witnesses, ethnic rivalries, and in some cases, disruption by insurgents. It may be worse than usual this time round, especially with election administration in the new provinces – which means election observers from civil society are desperately needed.

“Potential Fraud and Violence in Papua’s Approaching Elections”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), takes a close look at the governors’ races in three provinces: Papua, Central Papua and Highland Papua. The latter two are among the new provinces; they also happen to be the areas where pro-independence guerrillas are most active.

“Contrary to popular belief, the biggest problem in these elections isn’t going to come from the insurgents or the military – it’s going to come from individuals trying to rig the vote to get more spoils for themselves and their backers,” says Deka Anwar, IPAC analyst. 

One official from Papua province was caught on audio record last month outlining how money would be distributed to ensure that his candidate, the former police chief of Papua, would win. 

The report notes that the General Election Commissions (Komisi Pemilihan Umum) at the national and provincial levels have tried to address some of the flaws of the past by a variety of measures, including by scanning vote-tallying forms with a smart phone app to try and ensure against discrepancies. But some of their solutions may actually make matters worse, for example, by reducing the number of polling stations.

“The 2022 division of Papua hasn’t made elections any easier,” says Anwar. “But the answer is not to go back to the indirect elections of the New Order, as some have suggested. For these elections, coming up in two weeks, independent observers may be the best answer. For the future, to really fix the system, it’s a question of resources, voter education, and political will in Jakarta.”