Typology and Activities of Vote Broker In Legislative Election in Bengkulu Province

Abstract

The Legislative General Election System with the Most Open Candidate and Voting List System has led to tighter competition among candidates. This competition occurs not only between candidates from different parties in a particular electoral district; but also competition between candidates in the same party. This phenomenon causes all candidates for the legislature to compete to get as many votes as possible. In order to reach out to voters, candidates need intermediaries to introduce themselves. On the other hand, voters as the owner of voting right also need media to get information and get to know more about the legislative candidates they will vote in the voting later. The atmosphere of the political system like this causes opportunities for brokers to emerge. The vote brokers are intermediaries between the candidates and voters. This article will discuss six types of vote brokers and their activities as intermediaries for candidates with voters in the period leading up to the general election. Keyword: Legislative candidate, broker, voters, vote engine