Yogya (KU) – UGM political observer, Prof. Dr. Ichlasul Amal, M.A., said that the victory of incumbent in regional election in Yogyakarta showed that incumbent candidates have more information than the other candidates.
The UGM former Rector assessed that this is profitable for incumbent candidates as they can reassure the public more. "Their program is more certain," said Ichlasul Amal answering reporters’ questions after a discussion entitled "Great Thinkers: Alexis De Tocqueville: Democracy and Election in Indonesia”, Wednesday (26/5), at UGM Graduate School .
Amal said that as an incumbent, a candidate knows more details about the advantages and disadvantages of the region, particularly those related to the programs that are not yet implemented. Despite the many advantages in terms of information, the incumbent still has a weakness if the performance is seen as poor by the public. "It depends on the people trust. If you saw Megawati and President Bush Senior, they were the incumbent, but still were not elected," he added.
Talking about a lady who won the election in Yogyakarta, according to Amal, it will not change the leadership style in office later. That is because regents are the leader of the implementation of regional development. "Change of leadership or not, in my opinion it is not. Especially in Bantul, Mrs. Idham said that she would continue the program of his husband (Idham Samawi)," he said.
In the presentation of discussion, Amal said that the democratic system adopted by each country differs from one another. He compared the democratic system which is applied in each country is like fingerprints. "The democratic system is different from each other. Democracy is like a fingerprint. We can not imitate other countries. Democracy must be in accordance with the development of the country itself," said the former Chairman of Press Council.