Local Political Parties in Indonesia - the Aceh Test Case

Since Indonesia’s return to democracy, only national parties with a cross-regional organisational basis have been allowed to contest elections. Local political parties are restricted from contesting even local elections, making Indonesia unique in the world of multiparty democracies. Despite widespread antipathy to local political parties in Indonesia, the peace agreement between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement paved the way for local political parties to contest local legislative elections in Aceh in April 2009. In a major test for Indonesia’s democratic political system, the local party representing the former rebels secured an impressive victory in those elections. Based on a province-wide survey of voters in Aceh and in-depth interviews with local and national party leaders, this study examines the implications of the Aceh Party victory for Jakarta-Aceh relations and for Indonesia’s evolving political party system. It finds that, while the introduction of local political parties in Aceh must be judged a success, legislation needs to be changed if local parties are to be successfully integrated into Indonesia’s national political system. Despite policymakers’ best intentions, contradictions in the laws governing party membership effectively prevent coalitions between national and local parties, potentially undermining Jakarta-Aceh relations.