The 2024 West Sulawesi gubernatorial election was held on 27 November 2024 as part of nationwide local elections to elect the governor and vice governor of West Sulawesi for a five-year term. The previous election was held in 2017. The election was won by Suhardi Duka of the Democratic Party with 46% of the vote. He defeated three other candidates, the runner up, former Polewali Mandar Regent Andi Ibrahim Masdar, received 19%. Former Governor Ali Baal Masdar placed third with 18%.
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.
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 West Sulawesi Regional House of Representatives (DPRD). Golkar, with 10 of 45 seats, is the only party eligible to nominate a candidate without forming a coalition with other parties. Candidates may alternatively demonstrate support to run as an independent in form of photocopies of identity cards, which in West Sulawesi's case corresponds to 98,576 copies. No independent candidates registered prior to the deadline set by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on 12 May 2024.
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:
- Ali Baal Masdar (Golkar), previous governor.
- Andi Ibrahim Masdar (PDI-P), former regent of Polewali Mandar.
- Husain Syam, academic and rector at Makassar State University.
Political map
Following the 2024 Indonesian legislative election, ten political parties are represented in the West Sulawesi DPRD:
Results
Candidate vote share by district