Local elections (Indonesian: Pemilihan Kepala Daerah/Pilkada) were held in Indonesia on 27 June 2018. Votes were held to elect 17 governors, 39 mayors and 115 regents across the country. [1] The elections included gubernatorial elections for Indonesia's four most populous provinces: West Java, East Java, Central Java and North Sumatra. [2]
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. It is a standardized register of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world. Of its large population, the majority speak Indonesian, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.
West Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the western part of the island of Java and its capital and largest urban center is Bandung, although much of its population in the northwest corner of the province live in areas suburban to the larger urban area of Jakarta, though that city itself lies outside the administrative province. With a population of 46.3 million West Java is the most populous of Indonesia's provinces.
East Java is a province of Indonesia. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and southern coasts, respectively, while the narrow Bali Strait to the east separates Java from Bali. Located in eastern Java, it includes the island of Madura, which is connected to Java by the longest bridge in Indonesia, the Suramadu Bridge, as well as the Kangean and Masalembu archipelagos located further east and north, respectively. Its capital is Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia and a major industrial center. Banyuwangi is the largest regency in East Java and the largest on the island of Java.
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Like other local elections in Indonesia (except for Jakarta), the elections followed a simple plurality, first-past-the-post system where the candidates with the most votes automatically wins the seat even if they have less than 50% of the votes. [3]
Jakarta, officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of the world's most populous island, Java, it is the centre of economics, culture and politics of Indonesia, with a population of 10,075,310 as of 2014. Jakarta metropolitan area has an area of 6,392 square kilometers, which is known as Jabodetabek. It is the world's second largest urban agglomeration with a population of 30,214,303 as of 2010. Jakarta is predicted to reach 35.6 million people by 2030 to become the world's biggest megacity. Jakarta's business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from across the Indonesian archipelago, combining many communities and cultures.
A plurality vote or relative majority describes the circumstance when a candidate or proposition polls more votes than any other, but does not receive a majority. For example, if 100 votes were cast, including 45 for Candidate A, 30 for Candidate B and 25 for Candidate C, then Candidate A received a plurality of votes but not a majority. In some votes, the winning candidate or proposition may have only a plurality, depending on the rules of the organization holding the vote.
