The Price of Democracy: Vote Buying and Village Elections in China

Abstract

Local elections have been occurring in most villages for over a decade in rural China, and competitive elections are one of the key indicators of the democratic process. Indeed, competition is an important aspect of any democracy, and it increases the value of a villager's vote-so much so that in some villages, a farmer's vote can be worth a small fortune. As village elections become more competitive, reports of vote buying are on the rise, and a number of journalists and academic researchers have condemned this growing practice in rural China. Accordingly, vote buying subverts democratic development and hinders democratization efforts. However, vote buying has a long history in wellestablished democracies, such as the United States and Great Britain. Rather than subverting democratization, vote buying can be viewed as part of the process or the price of democracy. While policies and laws are needed to control vote buying in the long run, initially it is a positive indicator that voting is an important and valuable process in rural China.

Jejaring Sosial Dalam Pembentukan Tim Sukses Mandiri Di Pemilu DPRD Kabupaten 2019

“…Di Negara-negara Asia, seperti di Taiwan (Mattlin, 2004;Wu dan Huang, 2004), Thailand (Hellmann, 2014). Bahkan di negaranegara yang dianggap non-demokratis seperti di China (Kennedy, 2010), dan di Mesir era rezim otoriter (Blaydes, 2006).Bahkan pemanfaatan tim pemenangan di luar partai politik juga dilakukan di negara maju, seperti di Rusia (Frey dkk, 2019).…”

Land Discourses, Patronage, And The 2018 Village Election In Baleharjo, Yogyakarta

“…Rumours of money politics, particularly vote buying, spread widely during the village election. According to Kennedy (2009), money politics tends to be more common in suburban villages, as residents see the provision of money and goods during elections as normal and natural-especially when candidates are newcomers to politics and lack the political capital and linkages of the incumbent. To an extent, this is supported by the case of Baleharjo.…”

“…Although this practice of money politics received widespread attention, disputes over two pieces of village-controlled land were central in Baleharjo's 2018 election. Where Kennedy (2009) argued that suburban village elites access communal village-controlled land to recoup their financial investments in elections, in this case the incumbent utilised his experiences with two parcels of villagecontrolled land to access voter support, with a particular focus on the land upon which the Baleharjo Bus Terminal had stood.…”

Religion, Political Contestation and Democracy: Kiai's Role as Vote Broker in Madurese Local Political Battle

“…Sedangkan hasil positif yang didapatkan adalah keberadaan pembelian suara yang sebenarnya. Kennedy (2010) mengungkapkan bahwa pembelian suara adalah hasil dari pemilihan yang kompetitif yang tidak perlu solusi langsung untuk pembelian suara. Kedepannya praktek pembelian suara akan berkurang sedikit demi sedikit ketika dilakukan dengan sistem hukum yang lebih efisien dan dibarengi dengan pendidikan yang diperuntukkan pada pemilih.…”

“…Sesuai dengan pendapat Li et al (2007) yang menjelaskan bahwa pengendalian pembelian suara adalah dengan melakukan pendidikan bagi pemilih. Kennedy (2010) menjelaskan bagaimana fenomena pembelian suara di China mampu menjadi tahap awal yang menjadi harga dari sebuah demokrasi. Dengan demikian pembelian suara tidak dapat dianggap sebagai penghambat reformasi mengingat pemilihan kompetitif kedepannya memaksa para pejabat pemerintah melarang pembelian suara.…”