Inconsistency Coalition and The Formation of Pragmatic Coalition In Indonesian Gubernatorial Election 2020

Abstract

Coalition formation of the political parties for democratic countries is a routine agenda in executive head elections, especially in order to meet threshold requirements in candidacy executive heads. However, why do the coalitions formed in each region differ, and what reasons that can explain this variation? This research uses the process tracing method and takes cases from the 2020 Central Sulawesi, Central Kalimantan, and South Kalimantan Provincial Governor Elections. This study reveals that the differences in political party coalitions in the Indonesian context reflect the diverse political contexts and dynamics between the national and regional levels. In general, coalitions in the regions tend to be inconsistent, which can lead to the formation of pragmatic coalitions. The coalition differences between the national and the regional levels occur due to several factors such as the encouragement of political parties to consider the influence of candidates, the core party, and informal rules in coalition formation at the regional level.