The 2024 Gorontalo gubernatorial election was held on 27 November 2024 as part of nationwide local elections to elect the governor and vice governor of Gorontalo, Indonesia for a five-year term. The previous election was held in 2017. The election was won by Gusnar Ismail of the Democratic Party with 43% of the vote. Former Vice Governor Tonny Uloli of the NasDem Party placed second and received 28%.
Electoral system
The election, like other local elections in 2024, follow the first-past-the-post system where the candidate with the most votes wins the election, even if they do not win a majority. It is possible for a candidate to run uncontested, in which case the candidate is still required to win a majority of votes "against" an "empty box" option. Should the candidate fail to do so, the election will be repeated on a later date.
The previous elected governor, Rusli Habibie, had served two full terms (2012–2022) and was ineligible to run in the election.
Candidates
According to electoral regulations, in order to qualify for the election, candidates were required to secure support from a political party or a coalition of parties controlling 9 seats (20 percent of all seats) in the Gorontalo Regional House of Representatives (DPRD). Golkar, with 9 seats from the 2024 legislative election, is the only party eligible to nominate a candidate without forming a coalition with other parties. However, following a Constitutional Court of Indonesia decision in August 2024, the political support required to nominate a candidate was lowered to between 6.5 and 10 percent of the popular vote. Candidates may alternatively demonstrate support to run as an independent in form of photocopies of identity cards, which in Gorontalo's case corresponds to 88,121 copies. No independent candidates registered with the General Elections Commission (KPU) prior to the set deadline.
Potential
The following are individuals who have either been publicly mentioned as a potential candidate by a political party in the DPRD, publicly declared their candidacy with press coverage, or considered as a potential candidate by media outlets:
- Tonny Uloli (Golkar), former vice governor (2010–2012).
- Nelson Pomalingo (PPP), two-term regent of Gorontalo Regency.
- Rachmad Gobel (NasDem), deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, former Minister of Trade (2014–2019).
- Mujahidin Harpin Ondeh, former Indonesian Air Force air vice-marshal.
Political map
Following the 2024 Indonesian legislative election, ten political parties are represented in the Gorontalo DPRD:
Results
Candidate vote share by district