The 2018 Papua gubernatorial election took place in
Papua,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
on 27 June 2018 as part of the
simultaneous local elections. It was held to elect the governor of Papua along with their deputy, whilst members of the provincial council (''Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah'') will be re-elected in
2019.
Incumbent
Lukas Enembe
Lukas Enembe (27 July 1967 – 26 December 2023) was an Indonesian politician from Western New Guinea, West Papua, who served as the 13th Governor of Papua (province), Papua Province from April 2013 to January 2023. He had previously served as R ...
ran for his second term against the regent of
Jayawijaya Regency John Wempi Wetipo.
Timeline
Registration for party-backed candidates were opened between 8 and 10 January 2018, while independent candidates were required to register between 22 and 26 November 2017 although none registered. The candidates were assigned their ballot numbers on 21 February 2018. The campaigning period would commence between 15 February and 24 June, with a three-day
election silence before voting on 27 June.
The
General Elections Commission
The General Elections Commission (, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing the results and seats won ...
planned to release a list of eligible voters by 22 April 2018, but it was delayed citing delays from several regions. A placeholder count from March 2018 placed the voter count at 3,125,047.
Candidates
As per regulations due to the province's special autonomy status, candidates are required to garner the support of political parties totaling 15 percent of the popular vote in the
2014 election ''or'' parties controlling 15 percent of the 55-seat provincial council.
The Lukas-Klemen pair (abbreviated as ''Lukmen'') are both incumbents. After garnering the support of most political parties in 2017, several media outlets and his party
Demokrat speculated that the election will be uncontested. On January 4, however,
PDI-P leader
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 200 ...
declared that the party will place its support behind John Wempi Wetipo, regent of
Jayawijaya Regency with former regent of
Jayapura Regency
Jayapura Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in Papua Province of Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Paci ...
Habel Melkias Suwae as his running mate. The John-Suwae ticket (abbreviated as ''Josua'') also received the endorsement of
Gerindra, despite the two parties being the main parties of the government (''Koalisi Indonesia Hebat'') and opposition (''Koalisi Merah Putih'') coalitions in the
People's Representative Council. Deputy speaker of the parliament and Gerindra vice-chairman
Fadli Zon noted that the alliance was "reflecting the aspirations of local areas".
Results
By region
References
{{Indonesian local elections, 2018
Papua (province)
2018 Indonesian gubernatorial elections