Between Quotas and Patronage: Islamist Party and Women's Electability in Indonesian Politics

Affirmative action on women’s political representation has elevated their participation in political debate. However, the number of female politicians passing the threshold to secure legislative and executive seats remains low. In this case, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has a good record of fulfilling the requirement, although it has an Islamist credential. Nonetheless, the rate of women’s electability in PKS is relatively low. West Sumatra is an example. Although the province is popular for its matrilineal culture, the number of elected female politicians in regional and local legislative bodies is limited. Our study showed that the critical issue here lies in personalization and patron-client networks as the drivers that pose an extra barrier for PKS’ female politicians to secure legislative seats. Most women candidates have a weak root in society. The situation worsens since patron-client networks have driven the behavior of Indonesian voters during elections. In this matter, female candidates face difficulties attracting voters’ sympathy amidst the widespread material distribution from politicians to win maximum support from voters.