Depok, 25 November 2025 — Plenary Session I in the third session of the Symposium of 25 Years of Decentralization featured Prof. Dr. Siti Zuhro (Principal Researcher at BRIN), Suharini Eliyawati (Assistant for Economy and Finance to the Regional Secretary of DKI Jakarta Province), and Titi Anggraini, S.H., M.H. (Board of Trustees of the Association for Elections and Democracy – Perludem), who presented critical reflections on the trajectory of Indonesia’s democracy at the local level after a quarter century of decentralization.

All speakers agreed that public political awareness and participation have increased significantly since the implementation of decentralization. However, local democracy is still considered far from ideal due to various structural and cultural constraints. Prof. Siti Zuhro highlighted that decentralization has in fact experienced setbacks in recent years, particularly through the reduction of regional authority resulting from the Mineral and Coal Mining Law and the Job Creation Law. These two regulations are considered to have narrowed the space for regional autonomy and opened opportunities for money politics in local elections.

In line with this view, the speakers assessed that public political education has not been effective, causing public participation to remain dominated by money-based mobilization. Research conducted over three years in eight regions shows that local democratic institutions have not been fully developed, while elite influence has instead become a major obstacle to substantive democracy. The tendency toward executive power dominance with parliamentary support reaching up to 82 percent has also weakened the function of checks and balances, further narrowing popular representation.

From a long-term perspective, the increase in public participation is considered insufficiently accompanied by improvements in democratic governance. Dynastic politics and the phenomenon of single candidates in local elections have risen sharply, even reaching hundreds of cases at the regency and city levels. Democracy is seen as not yet rooted in local values and Pancasila, resulting in substantive decline and a system that is more procedural than meaningful for public welfare.

In response to these challenges, the discussion emphasized the need to change the approach to regional head elections through an asymmetric local election model. This model allows for the adjustment of electoral mechanisms to the socio-economic conditions of each region. Regions with low levels of education and economic capacity are considered more suitable for indirect local election schemes so that democracy remains meaningful and does not merely become an arena for transactional competition. Titi Anggraini also stressed the importance of an asymmetric approach, particularly for conflict-prone regions such as Papua, while still ensuring democratic decision-making processes that involve the community.

In this session, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government also shared its experience in increasing public participation in development. Suharini Eliyawati explained that since 2014, the regional financial system has been fully cashless to promote transparency and accountability. Musrenbang programs from the neighborhood (RT) level to the provincial level, the provision of free transportation for 15 community groups, and the expansion of social services such as the Jakarta Smart Card and the Superior Community Card demonstrate the local government’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to public services despite reductions in revenue-sharing funds.

The use of digital platforms such as JakLingko and the JAKI/Jakita super apps was cited as an important means to increase government responsiveness while strengthening citizen engagement in development oversight. Success in building public trust is also considered to have encouraged an improved investment climate, as reflected in DKI Jakarta’s investment realization reaching Rp204.2 trillion and contributing to economic growth of 4.96 percent.

The session concluded with a broad vision for the long-term future of Indonesian democracy. Local democracy should not be directed solely toward electoral efficiency, but must serve as a tool for building civilization and welfare. A dignified democracy requires values and ethics as its foundation, the strengthening of local governance, the consolidation of political institutions, and sustainable political education so that public participation is not merely procedural but drives social progress.