Legal Protection of Civil Servants Against Identity-Based Spatial Coercion in Indonesia’s Local Elections
Keywords:
Legal protection, civil servant neutrality, human rights, digital whistleblowing, local electionsAbstract
Indonesian election law requires civil servants (ASN) to remain neutral but largely treats them as potential violators rather than rights-holders needing protection from coercion by regional heads who influence their careers. This study examines how identity-based coercion through kinship, religion, ethnicity, or birthplace ties, and spatial coercion through formally valid personnel sanctions, infringed civil servants’ rights during the 2024 regional head elections (Pilkada) and why the legal framework failed to protect them. Using a socio-legal approach combining statutory, conceptual, and case analyses with a comparison of urban Kota Kotamobagu and rural Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow, the study analyzes legislation, election regulations, Constitutional Court decisions, and interviews with 19 informants. Rural incumbents mobilized kinship networks and imposed remote transfers, while urban incumbents exploited religious polarization through WhatsApp groups and imposed demotions or non-job status. These practices violate rights to non-discrimination, fair treatment, and freedom from intimidation but remain legally invisible due to violator-centric, time-limited regulations dependent on identified testimony. The study proposes an Ethical-Cultural Meritocracy model involving independent review, confidential reporting, restorative remedies, and the Mongondow Tri-M ethic
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