The Prohibition of Political Dynasty Practices: How Does the Public View It?

Public opinion is divided on the discourse surrounding a ban on political dynasties in Indonesia. This aligns with the findings of a *Kompas* Research and Development (Litbang) survey titled *Gibran and the Politics of Dynastic Politics*, October 2023 edition.

The survey results show that 47.2% of respondents feel that a ban on political dynasties in Indonesia would restrict political rights.

Meanwhile, 41.9% of respondents believe that such a policy would not restrict political rights. A further 10.9% of respondents answered "don't know."

"This divided public opinion stems from the assessment that the need to limit political dynasties and the need to guarantee the political rights of anyone to participate in the political competition process are equally important," wrote *Kompas* Litbang researcher Yohan Wahyu in his report on Monday (23/10/2023).

*Kompas* Litbang also captured respondent opinions regarding regulations to limit the emergence of political dynasties. The results show that a majority, or 63.7% of respondents, agree with regulations that could limit the practice of political dynasties in Indonesia.

However, 23.2% of respondents disagreed with this policy, and 13.1% answered "don't know."

Previously, regulations regarding a ban on 'political dynasties' were included in Article 7 of Law Number 8 of 2015 concerning the Election of Regional Heads. This article prohibits regional head candidates from having family ties with the incumbent.

Regional head candidates may only run after a one-term gap or after the incumbent is no longer in office. This is intended to ensure a more open circulation of power and prevent domination by the political power of a particular family.

However, this regulation only applied to regional elections and was annulled by the Constitutional Court (MK) because it was deemed to restrict citizens' political rights.

This *Kompas* Litbang survey involved 512 respondents from 34 provinces in Indonesia. The sample was randomly selected from the *Kompas* Litbang panel respondents, in proportion to the population of each province.

Data collection was conducted from October 16-18, 2023, using telephone interview methods. This survey has a margin of error of approximately 4.35% under conditions of simple random sampling, and a 95% confidence level.

(See also: [The Issue of Political Dynasties Surfaces Ahead of the Election, How Do Citizens Respond?])