INTRODUCTION
Politics
is an arena for the contestation of power. However, if the constellation arena
does not provide fair space for all interests, there will be the hegemony of
the interests of the majority against minority groups. The experience of Latin
America and Scandinavian countries that have succeeded in the struggle for
policies affirmative action shows that women's involvement is absolute
in the political constellation to fight for women. In Indonesia, when entering
the Reformation Era, the surge of awareness about the absence of women in
formal political institutions, the legislative, executive, and judiciary began
to emerge and the idea that the absence of women in decision-making
institutions was tolerated by the complexity of channeling women's aspirations.
(Martha Tilaar, 2013: 25)
Various
changes in political struggles in the reform era and changes in the political
constellation, the role of women in democracy has also undergone significant
changes. The issuance of Law No. 65 paragraph (1), which agrees on women's
involvement by providing a 30 percent quota in legislative bodies, this policy
indicates that the space for women to take part in politics is increasingly
open.
The
issue of the presence of women in parliament is inseparable from what is in the
interests of women themselves because the different needs of women and men are
important. The issue of different social roles then becomes the core of why
women need representation in aspirating their voices. Gender interests are that
formed collectively as a result of the construction of gender roles and gender
relations. (Dewi Haryani Susilastuti,
2013: 11). The policy affirmative action benefits women's access to be involved
in the open political stage, but the unpreparedness of political parties in
anticipating this policy makes some political parties overwhelmed to find women
to meet the 30 percent quota, sometimes parties attract women with skyrocketing
popularity compared to those with capacity. Political pragmatism is present in
fulfilling this quota of women which could then lead to exploitation of women
if the party only recruits female candidates for the sake of fulfilling the 30
percent quota without providing political education and training. (Asri
Abdullah, 2014: 102)
As
a result, the opportunities for women candidates to get the attention of the
voting community are not maximized even though the opportunities are wide open
for women. It is feared that the political reality in the legislative sphere
will affect the general policy decision-making process which may cause “gender
blindness” because they do not understand the specific needs of women and their
environment.
In
essence, in general elections, the people play an important role in choosing
their own representatives who deserve to occupy the parliament and government
structures, because the political system in Indonesia has exercised people's
rights in elections (Hafied Cangara,
2011: 165). However, linking this with affirmative action as an effort to
increase women's representation is important in a political process. Likewise,
in building a democratic system in a country, political parties should be an
effective means of supporting the quality of democracy that can act as a
liaison between the people and the government as well as in terms of
regeneration and equipping female candidates who are advanced in political
contestation.
In
the 2019 legislative election in North Luwu Regency,
a political phenomenon occurred which then made the position of women in
politics disappear. According to data from the final list of legislative
candidates for the North Luwu Regency, there are 375
total candidates (Komisi Pemilihan
Umum Luwu Utara: 2019), including 241 male candidates
and 134 contesting candidates, but not a single female candidate was elected.
A
different result if you look back at the context of the executive election,
namely the 2016 simultaneous regional elections in North Luwu
Regency, the election of women as regents have become a separate topic in the
political axis in the regions. Indah Putri Indriani,
since previously being a deputy regent, produced an understanding of gender
equality that was produced in society and became a contributive discourse in
the political and governmental circulation in North Luwu.
This construction then expanded and became a modality for women's advancement
in the public sphere. Until then, his political transmission led him to be
elected Regent. But unfortunately, the euphoria of society in choosing women
who fight in politics does not act and survive. In the 2016 Pilkada,
Indah Putri Indriani was successfully elected as
Regent (Wibowo, 2017), but in the 2019 Pileg, there were no female candidates
who were successfully elected as people's representatives in the North Luwu parliament, all of them were occupied by men.
This
political phenomenon then became a hot issue because it clearly shows different
voter behavior towards female candidates. A large number of voter choices in
the 2019 Pileg coupled with the strongest legislative candidates (political
elites), the majority of men, made the power of female candidates not meeting
maximum results. In the 2016 Pilkada, voters saw the
candidate they chose based on the figure of Indah Putri Indriani.
Meanwhile, in the 2019 legislative elections, no female figure was elected.
The
results of the voting in terms of electing women in the executive and
legislative branches indicated that the political behavior of the people of
North Luwu could not be predicted even though all
parties participating in this political contestation had female candidates
because they had to meet the 30 percent quota. Based on this, this study seeks
to see the political reality of how voters behave towards female candidates in
the 2019 legislative elections in the North Luwu
district.
METHODS
Qualitative
methods with analytic descriptive approach. This is to get in-depth data and
meaningful data. This means that the qualitative method directly presents the
nature of the relationship between the researcher and the informant, the
object, and the research subject (Syamsuddin, et al.,
2015: 19) . In this study, the informants as the data
source were selected using porposive sampling. The
type of data of this research is primary data, and secondary data. The pointing
method in a way that can be shown to the user through observation,
interviews(interview), documentation, and so on. Meanwhile, the data collection
instrument is a tool used to collect data. Because it is a tool, the instrument
can be informed of a smartphone, a list of interview questions, and others. The
data processing and analysis techniques are data reduction, data display, and conclusion
drawing/verification.
RESULTS
AND DISCUSSION
Orientation,
Value Standards and Factors Affecting Voters' Behavior Towards Female
Candidates
Ideally,
in making choices, reviews are needed to determine the attitude or direction of
choice which is then called orientation. Likewise, in determining political
choices, it must be determined from various things related to the candidates to
be elected later. In the context of voter behavior, what is being thought and
desired is closely related to the orientation of the interests of the voters
themselves. The political orientation of the voters is actually a perspective
on politics which then underlies them to carry out political activities (Ratih
Puspa Yunita, 2014: 73).
Observing
the importance of women's representation, that actually the needs of women are
very different from men's, because instead of that, women policy makers are
also needed in order to reach the specific basic needs of women.
Representation
of women in politics, there are at least two types of representation, namely
(a) representation of ideas / ideas in question is that they can be represented
to other than women because ideas / ideas related to women can be conveyed by
other than women; (b) Representation of existence (existence) includes two
aspects, namely: (i) Cannot be represented by other
than women, so that the composition of women's representation is the same as
that of women represented; and (ii) Women must also be represented by women,
because those who know more about women's needs are women themselves (Latifah
Iskandar, Rubrik opini Media Indonesia, 3 September
2008).
The
absence of women's representation in the North Luwu
parliament will clearly make the aspirations related to women not properly
actualized, even though in the executive realm it is led by a woman, this is
not enough if it is not accompanied by women in the legislature. The importance
of women's presence in parliament because of the aspirations of women is also
something that must be considered.
The
existence of women in parliament is indeed very important to pay attention to
specific conditions in the field, in a deeper discussion that the struggle for
women's emancipation must actually be fought for at this time, because the
progress of modernization in the midst of social life will also be rapid along
with the needs. the need will always change and increase, therefore things like
this must be fought for, in addition to making women aware and actively paying
attention to the flow of politics, the community can also understand women's
representation which is very important.
The
representation of women in politics, especially in people's representative
institutions, is not without basic reasons. There are several things that make
fulfilling the 30% quota for women's representation in politics considered
important. Some of them are responsibility and sensitivity to public policy
issues, especially those related to women and children, the social environment,
good morals, women's ability to dowork multitasking,
and time management. In addition, it is necessary to acknowledge the fact that
women are accustomed to carrying out their duties as leaders in social groups
and in community activities, such as in posyandu,
women's empowerment groups, school committees, and recitation groups. This
reason is not only ideal as a form of basic capital for the leadership and
experience of women's organizations in social life. This argument also shows
that women are close to public policy issues and it is relevant to have a
significant amount of representation in fighting for public policy issues in
the policy process, especially in people's representative institutions (Feybe M. P Wuisan, Journal Unsrat, 2, 2013: 3).
The
participation of women in politics is an important thing, especially in
relation to gender issues which are a crucial agenda given that the aspirations
of men and women are different. The standard value of women's political
participation is about the realization of equality in the form of emancipation
which is very important, especially in broader social issues and the
fulfillment of women's political constitutional rights that women also have the
same role as men in public affairs.
As
stated in an interview with a community leader, Mr. Ustadz
Syamsu Alam who said:
"The humanitarian obligation of women and men is equal, amar ma'ruf nahi
mungkar in the human status both have the same
rights, that's the first. Second, in the effort of transformation and
humanization in terms of social and political relations, as in the Qur'an surah
Al-Hujurat verse 13, it explains the position of a
man and woman who are made as nations and tribes to get to know each other, of
course the meaning of this is very broad. Women and men in social relations
have the same rights, even in politics as long as women have the scientific,
mental and other potential to enter the world of politics ”
(Syamsu Alam, interview, 05
October 2020).
The
role of women continues to be opened up in political contestation which is the
main agenda for why women must be fought for and is a priority agenda in the
flow of politics. This condition clearly makes women also have to sit in the
realm of policy makers. In the development of democracy during this reform
period, women's progress was supported by a 30% quota for women's
representation in the law and this has become a standard value for why women
should get support. However, in line with that, the capacity and quality of a
woman who advances in political spaces must be adequate and able to compete
with politicians who are still dominated by men.
As
explained in an interview with the North Luwu Regent
Indah Putri Indriani who said: "Actually, when
talking about women's interest in politics, especially in the previous
legislature, it was quite significant. In general, the supporting parties met
the 30% requirement, it's just that they have not been able to surpass the
votes of men. men, now this is indeed a separate homework, especially education
for our society, in addition to the needs of female political actors, women political
actors must also continue to develop their potential, especially this, we hope
that they will not only appear at political events but must be active in
various organizations. including political organizations. So later it is not
just a complement. In the context of the executive, we have seen several times
from various survey results, the level of acceptance of the North Luwu community towards women's acceptance is quite good, if
we look at the figure up to 78%, there was even one survey institution that
received up to 81% of women leaders, meaning that the community very open to
electing female leaders. So the homework is once
again, if I focus more on self-development then that too, the emergence not
only when political events begin, but must be active in organizations that are
continuous in nature so that the level of public recognition of these women
legislative candidates will be better. indeed in the
legislature there are hundreds of candidates. So the
point is actually in the introduction, if you already know the expectations,
the level of liking will also be higher. If so, the potential for the
electability level is also high. " (North Luwu
Regent Indah Putri Indriani, interview, 6 October
2020).
As
this explanation, Ann Philips in her book the Politics of Presence, emphasized
that women representatives in parliament should not only be interpreted as high
numbers but also interpreted by the presence of those who have the power of
transformation. That is, the presence of women members of the legislature
should be meaningful quantitatively and be able to bring ideas and ideas that
change the direction of political policy so as to present the interests of
their constituents, namely women's groups. This then became the substance of
the politics of presence (the Politics of Presence) when fighting for the entry
of women in parliament to increase not only political participation but also
women's political representation (Ann Philips, 1995: 23).
The
condition of women to advance in politics today is still in hope both in terms
of representation and capacity, however, in reality it is still not running
optimally due to clashing views and various things that are assumed about women
themselves. Especially in political battles which are known to have strong currents
in every election competition.
North
Luwu Regency is the only district in South Sulawesi
that does not have a female representative who has passed the Legislative Body,
even though it is chaired by a female Regent. This is a unique phenomenon in terms
of today's political reality. In fact, the East Luwu
Regency area, which is a fraction of the North Luwu
Regency, in this period succeeded in passing two female representatives in the
East Luwu Parliament.
The
unsatisfactory situation in the political reality of women's representation in
the Legislative Council of North Luwu Regency shows
that serious improvements are needed in socio-political activities, especially
in terms of instilling political commitment and understanding to women and
society itself as voters. For example, in terms of the seriousness of political
parties that nominate female candidates, the most important process is not only
when it has met the 30% target so that it meets the requirements, but in terms
of regeneration to instill a strong commitment in politics is much more
important in order to encourage and build voter orientation. to support female
candidates as a fundamental step in dealing with political and women's problems
in this Legislative Body, although there are still several other issues that
are quite crucial, including:
1.
The Influence of the Existence of
Elites on Voter Behavior
Voter
behavior in the political process is an emotional response that is applied in
the form of political action, namely to provide political support and fulfill
the right to vote. The orientation of voter behavior sometimes changes along
with the political situation. The political behavior of the community can
change according to the preferences that underlie it, this is because people
live in a moving space, especially in political conditions that will always
experience changes in attitude according to growing interests.
The
factors shaping voter behavior in determining their political choices are
influenced by the experiences of the candidates themselves while in office and
the reflections on what is produced for society because behavior can involve
human attitudes acting on things which can also have feedback from social
interactions that occur. accepted and have the influence to shape the behavior
itself.
Political
contestation, especially in the legislative elections, of course there are
hundreds of legislative candidates competing in a district / city, for example
North Luwu Regency in the 2019 contest, there were
375 legislative candidates who advanced from various selected regions (dapil). Too many candidates who become choices with various
backgrounds will require the voting community to have an orientation in
choosing and determining the criteria they will choose.
Based
on the findings of researchers in the field by interviewing several informants,
they found that voter orientation to choose is formed from how the candidate
offers a vision, mission or priority agenda that they will do in the future,
ideas and ideas that are solutions to address societal problems is one of the
keys to attracting voters.
The
orientation of the voters in making choices is sometimes also formed from the
influence of various other factors, such as family environment. This is a
social factor that shapes voter behavior. In the sociological approach, the
substance is that social influence is a factor behind the choice. Family
factors and their influence on the formation of voter behavior, it is not
uncommon for the head of the household to influence his family members in
making choices.
The
family's approach to making political choices is very influential. Socially,
the family is the smallest organization in society that has a share in shaping
the individual character among family members, as well as in general elections
that the influence of the family is also very decisive in political choices.
In
addition, the age factor then became an important part in capturing votes for
candidates, both young and old voters, especially young voters, which received
a lot of attention from political contestants in garnering votes.
Sociologically, age grouping is a strategic way to raise votes. The voices of
young people have attracted certain groups of people to attract political
support in recent political events, as well as in North Luwu
District. However, there is no specific preference regarding support for female
candidates from young voters.
The
age factor can influence voting behavior because in this category many are
formed from the environment or the association with others, for example,
friendship circles. Friendship groups have a lot of influence, motivation
formed by intensive communication between members, because in this social
process, the intensity of communication and behavior is very dominant (Nahriyah Fata, Journal of Sociology, 01, 2015: 153).
In
substance, the considerations are then made in determining the choice of voters
or in obtaining information about the legislative candidates in terms of their
socialization, political campaigns in the election season become separate means
of shaping voter orientation, increasing communication intensity and for
strengthen emotional ties. The activeness of the candidates in socializing can
significantly raise the candidate's name, especially for new voters and
millennial voters.
Responding
to the problem of not having women sitting in the parliament of North Luwu Regency when viewed from the reality on the ground, it
is very proportional to the fact that the majority of the political elite in
North Luwu Regency are men. The existence of this
political elite is very attractive and shapes the orientation of the voters,
because it already has well-known social modalities. This fact has made women
candidates fail to form a voter orientation so that this problem greatly
affects the existence of women in legislative politics in North Luwu Regency.
This
was also responded to by the head of the Golkar Party
faction, Amir Makhmud, who said: “In terms of socialization, men are more
involved in society so that their level of acceptance can be higher. Even from Golkar, which in the past period had two representatives
who passed women, this year it failed too. And the fact is that people still
see a lot of male legislative candidates especially senior ones because they
are considered to have a strong influence on the development of North Luwu ”
(Amir Makhud, interview, 7 October 2020).
The
views of voters in voting in the 2019 legislative election in North Luwu Regency based on the results of the interview above
also place great importance on a direct approach because it can also be
analyzed that the importance of interaction between humans and one another
which of course will also be related to the attitudes and values of a person
which then raises the orientation to choose. Thus, it can make voters choose
candidates who are considered capable of providing good interaction. However,
this was not used by female candidates, thus creating an unsatisfactory
reality, that women legislative candidates in North Luwu
could not develop an orientation with their social interactions to influence
the voting community.
Referring
to the legislative political situation in North Luwu,
sociologically the community is closer to the male political elite, this is
because the strong political elites are all male, so that the orientation of
society still refers to the existence of candidates from political elites.
this. The political experience that has existed so far between the community
and people's representatives is dominated by men, as well as social activities
related to politics are always mostly attended by male politicians.
Even
though on the executive side, Indah Putri Indriani as
a woman politician is very active in social activities that are in direct
contact with the community, but in comparison it is still not able to develop
significant emotional ties, especially towards women in the legislature,
because society can also address the political side between legislative and
executive. Meanwhile, from the previous experience of women legislators, it is
not strong enough to influence the existing political reality.
This
can also be understood as the effect of psychological factors which assume that
attitudes are central in explaining one's political behavior because first,
attitudes are a function of interests. That is, an assessment of a person is
given based on the motivation of the socialization, the interests and interests
of that person. Second, attitude is a function of self-adjustment, meaning that
a certain attitude is the result of that person's desire to be the same or not
the same as a respected figure or role model.
One
thing that shapes a person's attitude, especially in the political election
process, is the information on attitude formation that is obtained or from
issues that spread so that it has the impact of raising voter orientation. In
this case, it can also be linked back that it is through the socialization
process that psychological bonds develop.
The
attitude of choosing someone depends on what motivation he gets,
what interests are his needs and interests. Apart from that, the attitude of
voting is the basis for the adjustment of the voters to their choices, whether
the candidates they choose are really known and able to meet their expectations
or are able to protect themselves and so on. Furthermore, from all this raises
the orientation of choosing. But the conditions that are able to shape voting
behavior come back to how the socialization offered by the candidate himself.
The
case of female legislative candidates in North Luwu
District who were unable to motivate voters and form a framework for voters'
attitudes led to an unpleasant reality for female candidates themselves.
Emotional ties and orientation - the orientation to vote for them does not live
in the frame of mind of the voting community so that the sad fact is that no
matter how complete the constitution requires women's participation in the
legislature, if it is not picked up in an ideal action, it will still not be
optimal for gender mainstreaming in legislative scope.
Moreover,
the reality on the ground is that the most influential thing in the flow of
legislative elections in North Luwu Regency is the
figure of the candidates themselves. In this case the existence of the
existence of the political elite. The track record of experience, achievements
and others is an important point for the electability of political candidates.
Actually, women who have advanced in this legislative battle have received
support from the political elite to advance, but the problem is that, on the
other hand, the elite is ambiguous in providing political support because they
also have the same interest in being elected. This ultimately makes the track
record of women in the world of legislative politics recorded as having no political
competitiveness, women do not have political figures, they are different from
the executive branch.
In
the executive context, North Luwu Regency recorded a
history of having the first female leader in South Sulawesi. The number of
votes achieved by a woman from the total number of Permanent Voters Data (DPT)
was 223,921 divided into 112,219 men and 111,702 women, while the number of
users who participated in voting booths was 170,503 divided between 83,861 men
and 86,642 women , confirmed the winning results of
female executive candidates as much as 90,824 votes or 53.60% (North Luwu General Election Commission, 2015), to confirm her as
Regent. Of course this is very different in the 2019
Pileg, from the 134 female candidates who nominated them, they did not
contribute women's representatives to become people's representatives.
Analyzing
the female figures in the executive who have successfully won the hearts of
voters, basically, they have a long track record in political experience. But
apart from that, in terms of socialization and direct interaction with the
community, it has been successfully utilized to build communication
relationships so that the internalization of their existence when nominating is
good enough and close to social activities.
This
was made clear by Mr. Karemuddin, Chairman of the PAN
Party who stated: "Unlike Mrs. Indah Yesterday, in terms of long political
experience, from legislative candidates to deputy regents and finally she could
become regents. that indeed women need a long time to be consistent in the
political, especially in North Luwu (Karemuddin, interview, 5 October 2020) ”.
Consistency
is something that female legislative candidates in North Luwu
Regency do not currently have, so that they do not create figures who have more
value in the view of society. Based on the explanation of the interview above,
it shows a very striking difference from the political experience of the
executive and legislature in North Luwu in terms of
female candidates.
Refocusing
on the reality of the legislature by looking at the standard value of gender
equality in the process of electing women, society actually understands the
need for the presence of women, but even so this has not yet been awakened
because voters are still influenced by the presence of male political elites
who are in the majority. , dominating the experiences
of legislative politics in North Luwu District.
2.
Political Parties and Voter Behavior
Political
parties are the main vehicle for political candidates to advance in every
political contestation, the role of political parties is very large in forming
a voting orientation, because each political party has mass bases that become
capital in every political party. political events. Political parties have been
symbolized in the minds of the people as a reference in politics, therefore
political parties must play an important, active and participatory role in
providing political education to the public to open horizons of political
knowledge, especially understanding the importance of women's participation in
politics.
The presence
of female candidates in the political realm, not a few underestimated, because
it is caused by the level of commitment that is still lacking, especially in
political issues towards women.
Rationally,
the important point is how political parties play a full role in providing
political supplies that are strongly committed to women, because the main value
of a party is as a cadre organization which of course has to produce the best
cadres.
The policy
of affirmative action fulfilling the 30% quota for women is the main value
standard that must be understood not only by political candidates, but also to
the voting public. This policy is an effort to make equality relations in
politics for women and men. North Luwu Regency
selected 134 women legislative candidates who then competed for parliamentary
seats. However, due to the absence of movement from political parties to do
things that support women optimally, raises the issue that women are basically
recruited only to be used to meet the administrative registration requirements
which require each party to meet the target of 30% only. This condition makes
women unprepared in facing public challenges when engaging in socialization or
political campaigns.
The main
value standard that must be clarified and instilled in the minds of political
parties, women legislative candidates and society is affirmative action as an
act of positive discrimination to encourage women's representation in politics,
because women no longer experience exclusion from political representation when
referring to written provisions. However, women in politics in fact face many
obstacles in the field. This situation shows that although basically attention
has been paid to the fulfillment of women's rights in politics, the
standardization has not yet been realized.
In fact,
when talking about the factor of gender views in society or in terms of seeing
gender or placing women in politics, it can actually be categorized as being
more open even though it has not been developed and has a significant impact.
Pros and cons of course become their own colors in political battles, as well
as against female candidates. But on the other hand, the political situation of
the executive incident has become a separate reference in relation to choosing
women. It's just that the main problem for women is from the side of the cadre
which has not been maximized from political parties, so it becomes a serious
obstacle in a social perspective.
The
understanding of gender is quite open, in the sense that questioning male or
female candidates is no longer a reference for choosing the community in North Luwu Regency but the root of the problem that occurs is
returning from the side of political parties that do not have serious
references in optimizing the role of women in politics except if only just
fulfilling the requirements. This problem greatly affects even sociological
factors, in terms of individuals who interact with each other and make
assumptions regarding political choices.
"Actually,
it can be said that this political party failed to regenerate, especially for
women. Because indeed it is the most difficult thing to find female cadres in
politics and it took a long time to prepare female cadres in North Luwu. Even though the regulations are already supportive,
even political parties cannot advance when they do not meet the 30% quota, but
the crucial obstacle is that it is difficult to find female cadres to be active
in politics ” (Karemuddin,
North Luwu council representative, interview, 5
October 2020).
This kind of
reality certainly looks unsatisfactory regarding the state of democracy,
especially in women's politics. The juridical provisions that are not
accompanied by reality on the ground seem to be a very influential obstacle.
The failure of the party to carry out regeneration and build political commitment
to women has made the structure of women's political spaces small.
Political
parties have not been able to have a serious influence in shaping voter
behavior on women's candidacy, even though parties have their respective voter
bases and have an important role in the socialization of political education in
society, but the standard of gender equality values in implementing affirmative
action to support quality improvement the life and role of women in parliament
has not yet been achieved and has not yet been developed in society.
3.
The Influence of Power Networks and
Kinship on Women Legislative Candidates Elected in the 2014-2019 Period
Parliamentary
in North Luwu Regency to date has made it very
difficult for women to occupy these positions. In contrast to the executive
position, in this case North Luwu Regency is led by
Indah Putri Indriani, who previously was the deputy
district head. Even now, he returned to the battle for his second period as
incumbent and was successfully elected again. This indicates that there are
different views from the two sides of politics, the legislature and the
executive, on the involvement of women.
In
the 2014-2019 period in the North Luwu Regency
parliament, there were actually two female council members, Rafika Said and Nirwana A. Gassing, all of whom came from the same party,
namely Golkar. These two candidates have proven to
have tenure experience as legislators, but based on this it is not enough to
get them re-elected in the 2019-2024 period because they no longer have backing
sufficient politicallike the period during their
election.
The
hope of women's representation in the realm of policy makers in North Luwu Regency was lost due to the failure of these two
legislative candidates. This fact is also confirmed by the statement of Mr. Karemuddin as deputy chairman of the North Luwu Regency DPRD: “Indeed, in the last legislative period
there were two female candidates, and now they do not qualify. But back then it
was because there were also strong people behind him who supported him so they
could get away, one was the regent's wife who served at that time and the other
was the regent's in-line, yes, all of them were close people so they could get
away, if the general public is really difficult ". (Karemuddin,
interview, 5 October 2020).
It
can be understood that the influence of power and kinship in the political
vortex sociologically is a strong part of one way of obtaining votes because
the power factor that was still in office at that time could influence voter
behavior. Things like this can then be said to be a determining factor, including
the female candidates themselves such as in North Luwu
Regency, the two women who were successfully elected as members of parliament
in the 2014 period because they have a strong network of power with local
political elites who are none other than part of his family who was in power at
the time as Regent so this is what led to their electability.
As
a result, when the wheels of power change, they can no longer be elected
because they only rely on the power of power to influence voter behavior. As a
result, for the 2019-2024 elections, they are no longer considered candidates
because the influence of their power or backing political is stronger than
themselves. On the other hand, the shortage of the two women parliamentarians
for the 2014-2019 period did not create the impression of experience as a woman
legislator in representing the aspirations of the community.
This
then became the trigger that caused them not to be elected again. Therefore, in
order to change the bad reality of women in legislative politics, significant
and serious support is needed, especially from the political parties
themselves, so that they can provide treatment to support the achievement of
affirmative action that not only fulfill registration requirements but also
extend to women's electability.
4.
The Effect of Money on Voter
Behavior
Questioning
about choosing and being elected in every election momentum should be done on
the basis of rational choice because this concerns the future of a political
system that regulates many things. This rational factor is very important as a
reference for voting because it can move voters to truly filter their choices
to candidates who are able to represent the aspirations of the community in
general. However, the opposite fact is what happens in society at every
election moment, that voters will elect a certain candidate if they feel there
is a trade-off that they will receive from an economic perspective, in this
case money becomes the political standard. The rational approach becomes
irrational in giving political choices because it has been labeled with the
power of money.
Indications
of this fact are actually very threatening to an ideal democracy, but this
irrational way of choosing is the last choice for society as long as a sound
political education orientation cannot also be internalized into the
understandings of the wider community.
The
issue of money politics in political contestation is interesting to be
appointed as a separate study in its impact on the candidacy of women.
Political turmoil in Indonesia, not except at the local level, is always
colored with money politics or known as money politics in every campaign
season. The fertility of money politics cannot be separated from the
perspective of the voters who are permissive to the phenomenon of money
politics as a result of a lack of political understanding and / or also from
the lack of education and economic levels.
"Money
politics is what destroys our political system during elections, because only
those who have a lot of money can qualify and the worst is the candidate. We
cannot dismantle all of them, because the ones already selected in the previous
period have already had a lot of capital. Especially if they are planting their
mass bases with financial strength. Of course this
also affects all candidates including women. It is getting more and more
damaged, our society is always easily tempted by the lure of money, political
actors also do not dare to fight purely without money if the election becomes
difficult in this political situation " (Muhammad Kasim, interview, 19 October
2020).
The
democratic process in Indonesia, the practice of money politics grows and
develops, because the public often considers this to be normal, especially
coupled with the competing legislative candidates who also spoil and familiarize
the public with this because their fears are not elected if not for -Share
money. The consequences that occur ultimately result in money politics being
very difficult to eliminate at every election momentum, the worst situation is
that people take advantage of this moment as a means of getting money or
waiting for the “dawn attack” to arrive, in this case the dependence of the
community on being given money by political candidates as a condition for
choosing it.
The
legislative elections in North Luwu Regency from year
to year, regarding money politics
are very prominent, money is used as a compromise tool in influencing
voters. The exchange value of ideas and ideas is not a priority for
understanding to the public, but the value of currency is a determinant in
politics.
The
bad consequences also have an impact on the fact that women are represented who
are unable to follow the flow of the reality of the game of money politics even
though they have also spent significant political costs. This is due to the
political actualization in North Luwu Regency which
is dominated by money. Thus, the patterns of the political process will
continue to struggle with the domination of the power of money and, at worst,
affect women's space to be elected because of their inability to compete.
Democracy
should be carried out by efforts to make people's minds healthy by stimulating
ideas from a vision and mission that builds according to the interests of the
people, although the way to reach the level of policy makers must be through
political competition, this should be used as a reference to educate the
nation's life by showing healthy efforts. in competing with each other.
However, it is political actors who often give bad examples to the public,
especially in questioning money politics at every election moment. The
conclusion of this reality is simply due to power and fear of defeat in a way
that is far from the democratic order that is actually rampant in the political
system.
Money
politics as the main way to get votes and money is still the standard value for
getting votes so money politics is very influential on voter behavior at every
election, money is able to direct voters' choices to elect candidates who have
lots of money, money has penetrated political life in society when the
election. and in fact only the political elites are
able to dominate the voters' voices.
It
is common knowledge that every political contestation takes place, but the
wheels of democracy have not been seriously handled so far in this unhealthy
situation. Because on the other hand, political candidates are afraid of losing
their votes if they don't rely on money, and on the other hand, people are
reluctant to vote by heart if they still feel that their aspirations for
political interests will never be achieved because they are based on previous
experiences. Therefore, taking advantage of political momentum is one way of
measuring profits and minimizing losses in the use of voting rights even though
this irrational method is contrary to ideal democracy.
CONCLUSSION
The
majority of male political elites dominate the legislative political stage in
North Luwu Regency, even though the community has
understood the need for women's representation but this has not been able to
develop because the existence of this political elite still has a very large
influence on voter behavior because the community still sees its existence. of
these political elites. This is also due to the socio-political experiences
that exist between the community and people's representatives which are
dominated by male politicians, which then becomes one of the reasons for the
absence of female figures who appear and are elected in the legislative domain.
Political
parties have not been able to optimize the 30% quota value standard for women's
representation in the legislature, the failure of parties to carry out
regeneration and provision of political education to female candidates has
resulted in women's unpreparedness to face public challenges. This clearly had
a serious effect on the results of the achievements of female candidates who
were unable to shape voter behavior to pass them.
Women
in politics in North Luwu Regency are no longer
taboo, as evidenced in the executive sphere led by women. Unlike the women in
the legislature, they still do not have a strong figure, even though the
2014-2019 period actually had two female council members, Rafika Said and Nirwana A. Gassing. However, for the 2019-2024 elections,
they are no longer elected because the influence of the support from the power
behind them is not strong enough to pass them as in the period during their
election.
One
of the things that still affects the political reality and voter behavior in
each election is the game of money politics. It seems that this is still an
important standard for getting votes so that it affects behavior, money is able
to direct voters' choices because the power of money is able to dominate the
votes of voters. On the other hand, political actors also play a role in money
politics, so this makes no female candidates elected because of their inability
to compete with the flow of money politics even though they have also incurred
significant political costs.
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The
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