Introduction

This paper investigates political parties in Indonesia's Kepulauan Riau (Kepri) Province, as a case of local politics occurring in decentralized Indonesia's periphery. As one of Indonesia's outermost provinces, Kepri Province's political dynamics are a significant indicator of how parties are faring in localities with typically limited infrastructure and little attention from central party offices.

Although case studies of local politics and elections in Indonesia have proliferated since the commencement of decentralization (e.g., Erb and Sulistiyanto 2009), the investigation of parties in this particular region has so far been limited mainly to Choi Nankyung's work (2007, 2009). In her study on Batam elections, she pointed to the weaknesses of the parties, particularly regarding recruitment and election management. This Trends issue examines the parties’ overall organization at the provincial level, with particular attention being paid to how their activities are managed, and uses the 2015 gubernatorial election as a case study.

The political and economic gaps between the provincial capital of Tanjungpinang and the commercial centre of Batam have created problems in organizational capacity for political parties in the province. While branches in Tanjungpinang co-ordinate the overall organization in Kepri, there is a strong need for the parties to focus their attention on the more populated and vibrant Batam. The provincial branches have consequently become largely inactive and undermanaged, and their activities infrequent and erratic. Local politics have thus come to be dominated by local figures who — although having party affiliations — gain popularity and public standing, first and foremost as individuals instead.

KEPRI PROVINCE: SMALL YET STRATEGIC

Kepri Province was established in 2002 as Indonesia's 32nd province (under Law No. 25, 2002), following increasing demands for secession from Riau Province. The idea had strong opposition from the provincial government in Riau at first for fear of loss of revenue from manufacturing, tourism, and natural resources (Amri 2016). Indeed, it was the combination of resentment caused by the inadequate size of revenues from local resources that were redistributed back to the region, dissatisfaction with the Riau provincial government in general, along with Malay cultural subnationalism, which inspired the idea to form a new province (Kimura 2010, p. 437).