Ahead of the Regional Head Elections (Pilkada), on Saturday, 23 November 2024, the Central Java branch of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa concerning the Regional Head Elections. In essence, the fatwa obliges Muslims to vote for leadership candidates who share the same faith (seakidah), are trustworthy, honest, reliable, and committed to advancing Islamic values. The fatwa further declares that voting for a candidate of a different faith, or deliberately abstaining from voting when there is a candidate of the same faith available, is haram (religiously prohibited).
Regarding the Central Java MUI Fatwa, SETARA Institute issues the following statement.
- The fatwa is discriminatory and contrary to Indonesian law. Article 28D paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia affirms that “every citizen has the right to equal opportunity in government.” Likewise, Article 43 paragraph (1) of Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights states that every citizen has the right both to vote and to be elected based on the principle of equal rights. Accordingly, the rights to vote and to stand for election belong equally to every citizen, regardless of their identity. Requiring Muslim voters to choose only candidates who share their faith constitutes a form of distinction or discrimination that grants preferential treatment exclusively to candidates from the Muslim community.
- The fatwa, along with similar religious rulings, is also segregative and weakens Indonesia’s diversity. SETARA Institute views regional elections and other electoral processes not only as mechanisms for selecting public officials, but also as expressions of Indonesian nationhood. Through regional and general elections, citizens and candidates engage with one another, exchange ideas, and come to understand each other without being bound by primordial identities, including religion. Electoral processes therefore serve as collective national events that strengthen Indonesia’s pluralistic identity under the principles of Pancasila. Consequently, requiring voters to choose candidates based solely on religion, while declaring it religiously forbidden to vote for candidates of a different faith, constitutes an act of segregation that undermines Indonesia’s diversity. Fatwas of this nature have the potential to divide Indonesia’s pluralistic society. Imposing religious preferences in the selection of political leaders risks creating socio-political segregation and fueling polarization within society.
- SETARA Institute maintains that a fatwa is fundamentally a religious opinion. It is non-binding and carries no legal force under Indonesian law. Therefore, members of the public and voters, including Muslim voters, are entitled to disregard religious opinions that possess no legal authority and that are inconsistent with Indonesia’s pluralistic values.
- SETARA Institute urges all parties, including religious mass organizations, to regard electoral events such as the Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) as opportunities to exercise citizens’ constitutional rights and popular sovereignty freely, while at the same time serving as a national platform for strengthening Indonesia’s pluralism.
- In this regard, SETARA Institute also calls on all civil society organizations, including religious organizations, to demonstrate leadership by promoting tolerance and conveying messages of peace, non-discrimination, and non-segregation, thereby strengthening the ecosystem of tolerance and supporting a peaceful and conducive atmosphere during the 2024 Regional Head Elections, particularly in the lead-up to Polling Day on 27 November 2024.
Media Contacts:
Harkirtan Kaur, Researcher SETARA Institute
Halili Hasan, Executive Director SETARA Institute