Clan-Based Village Head Election (The Form of Local Democracy in Ohoirenan)

By: Sarlota Wantaar, S.Pd.     

Indonesia has various cultures and islands scattered throughout the archipelago, one of them is the island of Kei Besar in the south of Southeast Maluku regency. There is a village called Ohoirenan which has more than five hundred family heads. The people here have customs and cultures that have existed since their ancestors' age. The village of Ohoirenan is unique because it maintains its culture and they think that is very important to do. One of the unique cultures in Ohoirenan village is the process of the village head election.

The people in Ohoirenan village elect their village head to implement a unique democratic system because it has its custom which is different from what the government does. They use 'local wisdom' democracy that has existed since a long time ago. The village head in Ohoirenan village is chosen based on people who have bloodlines to become village heads or leaders, so not anyone can run for the candidate. The person came from one of the clans in Ohoirenan village, called the Rahallus clan, and that was not all of the Rahallus clan, but from a certain family. If there is already a candidate for the village head, then there are four clans in Ohoirenan to determine the village head, namely the Rahangmetan, Rahasomar, Wantaar, and Rahangiar clans. These four clans are represented by each clan head to determine who is entitled to become village head, this kind of democratic practice has been passed down from generation to generation until now.

In 2019, the village head election in Ohoirenan village applied a similar process to what the ancestors did as a form of local democracy in Ohoirenan village. In the election, only one person running for the candidate, namely Julius Rahallus, so that four clans decided to appoint him as village head. On October 17, 2019, he was inaugurated as village head through a customary and government process, which was attended by the regent of Southeast Maluku, Drs. Muhammad Taher Hanubun. In his speech, he said that Ohoirenan village could be an example for villages in Kei Besar, Southeast Maluku in the village head election process.

In Indonesia, each regional culture is unique because each region has its democratic customs and practices. All of them are well-maintained. This is the reason why the election of village heads is carried out in a local democratic manner as a form of maintaining and preserving the existing customs of the ancestral village of Ohoirenan. Once again, this shows that Indonesia is diverse and the diversity itself is beautiful. ***