Papua, Indonesia, has been a politically turbulent region since 1969 due to Papuan nationalists continued fight for separation from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. There have been countless lives lost and property destroyed in the protracted conflict. In addition, there is a horizontal conflict between Papuans related to local elections for regional leadership, especially in the highlands of Papua, where a candidate’s defeat when not accepted by one party can result in deadly violence. For example, in 2017, violent conflict in Puncak Jaya and Intan Jaya during local elections resulted in 19 deaths, dozens of people injured and several state and private facilities heavily damaged. The violence linked to the elections led to further deadly violence, blamed on Papuan nationalist groups.
There are a number of factors relating to why Papuan local elections are marked by violence. I contend that one key factor is the unintended consequences of using the Noken system. Noken refers to a woven bag of bark fibers that has a central role in the lives of Papuans and is used in elections as ballot boxes. There are two ways the bag can be used in the Noken system. The first is the “big man” system (authoritative man), which leaves the choice entirely to the chief. The chief can vote to represent his members. The second approach, namely the "hanging Noken" system, is based on the results of mutual agreement between the community and the chief after a deliberation process (giving deep consideration to voting involving all parties before deciding). Votes can be given to one candidate only or divided among several candidates, if agreed beforehand. To date, according to the Supreme Court, the Noken system can operate in 13 regions in Papua. However, there is a view that the element of community deliberation in the Noken system has disappeared in reality. "The head of the local election commission in Yalimo kabupaten, for example, has contended that the Noken system should be rejected on the grounds that it violates the constitutional rights of citizens" (IPAC, 2018).
The Noken system is vulnerable because it is often manipulated by those with power, the so-called ‘big man,’ so that the potential for corruption is quite high. It is often the case that a ‘big man’ will receive funds from a specific candidate for a local election whom the ‘big man’ will then choose for his community, based on the system described above. Problems occur if another ‘big man’ votes for a different candidate; in this case, the result of the election may be rejected by the losing candidate. This rejection can be accompanied by mobilizing supporters to reject the election result with violence, including attacks on election organizers and supporters of the winning candidate.
The outcome of local elections in Papua has a significant impact on the community. The victory of a candidate that gets support from a ‘big man,’ in turn, economically benefits his constituents. We know that some Papuans experience economic marginalization, which is one of the roots of the political conflict in Papua. Therefore, although some Papuans are indirectly sympathetic to the Papuan nationalist struggle, they are enthusiastic to participate in a local election through their chief’s role to gain potential economic benefits. As a result, short-term economic benefits of voting for a particular candidate tend to outweigh a candidate’s capacity to lead the area in the long-term. The Noken system exacerbates this by providing an opportunity for corruption by those candidates with more financial resources.
To avoid election-related violence, local stakeholders must anticipate this violence. One such effort is the involvement of Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama/FKUB (Religious Leaders Forum for Tolerance) of Papua. In the election period, the FKUB Papua provides information and promotes peaceful implementation of the elections, including, for example, press releases calling on all parties to conduct elections peacefully, and working on the elimination of corrupt practices such as bribery, as noted above, during elections. This approach has had some success because the FKUB committees are representatives of religious leaders in Papua, where religious positions are respected and where the leaders are listened to by their congregations. Therefore, their involvement in supporting peaceful elections is very important.
To end election-related violence during the regional elections in Papua, the work of the FKUB must be maintained because it is quite effective in encouraging peaceful elections in Papua. Another thing that can be done is to increase media literacy among the Papuan people to reduce incidents of violence related to propaganda and false stories during the regional elections.
Ridwan Al-Makassary is a lecturer in the Politics Department, Social Science Faculty, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII) and co-Founder of Lembaga Perdamaian Indonesia (LPI).
Photo: Woman holding a "noken", a bag made of bark; the noken is the pride of the Papuan people because of its uniqueness. It is crowned as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO. Keenan63, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
