Redrawing Poso

YAMAMOTO Nobuto

doi:10.11479/asianstudies.51.2_84

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

中スラウェシ州ポソ県政治の構造的特性
中スラウェシ州ポソ県政治の構造的特性--「宗教」暴動・造られた制度・2004年県議会選挙
ナカスラウェシシュウポソケンセイジノコウゾウテキトクセイシュウキョウボウドウツクラレタセイド 2004ネンケンギカイセンキョ
— Conflicts, Political Structure, and the 2004 Election in a Central Sulawesi Regency
「宗教」暴動・造られた制度・2004年県議会選挙

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Description

This article considers the political landscape of Poso Regency by looking at electoral politics of the local People’s Representatives in 2004. Since December 1998 Poso has been stigmatized as a region of conflict between Christians and Muslims. In the past six years, recurring violence has left the region’s capital city, Poso, and a number of villages along its major roads in ruins. Thousands of local residents have been killed and many others internally displaced in waves to cities such as Palu, Manado, Makassar, and even Jakarta.<BR>The 2004 election in Poso went peacefully and resulted in victory for the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), the sole Christian-affiliated party in the contest. The PDS claimed 25.94% of the vote, followed by the previously dominant Golkar Party with 18.02%. The triumph of the PDS in Poso attests to the peculiar political conditions prevailing in the regency in comparison with other regions. The occurrence and nature of this political peculiarity are the main subjects of this article.<BR>I contend that changes to the administrative and electoral frameworks have transformed political conditions in Poso. In 2003 the formerly sizeable regency was carved up into three regencies: Poso, Morowali, and Tojo Una-Una. The creation of Muslim-dominated Tojo Una-Una and Morowali as separate units has turned Poso into a regency with a large Christian majority. In effect, electoral districts in Poso were mapped into three major constituencies, each comprising three small districts. This article demonstrates that the mapping of small electoral districts conferred greater significance to local-based individuals than to political parties, which in turn influenced the dynamics of the election. Another finding is that the transformation of Poso into a ‘Christian’ regency has made religion less of a factor in people’s political agenda; rather, socio-economic recovery and development were their major concerns.

Journal

Asian Studies

Asian Studies 51 (2), 84-107, 2005

Japan Association for Asian Studies