RELASI KUASA KEMENANGAN PETAHANA PASCA PEMUTUSAN HUBUNGAN POLITIK DARI PARTAI DOMINAN  ( STUDI KASUS PILKADA DI KABUPATEN SIDOARJO PERIODE 2024-2029 )

POWER RELATIONS OF THE INCUMBENT VICTORY AFTER THE TERMINATION OF POLITICAL RELATIONS FROM THE DOMINANT PARTY (CASE STUDY OF REGIONAL ELECTIONS IN SIDOARJO REGENCY 2024-2029 PERIOD)

Penelitian ini mengkaji relasi kuasa di balik kemenangan petahana pasca pemutusan hubungan politik dari partai dominan pada Pilkada Kabupaten Sidoarjo periode 2024–2029, dengan fokus menjelaskan bagaimana kemenangan tetap terbentuk ketika dukungan formal partai dominan melemah. Tujuan penelitian mencakup pendeskripsian konteks sosio-politik Pilkada, identifikasi pola baru perilaku pemilih, serta analisis relasi kuasa kemenangan petahana. Penelitian menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif jenis studi kasus melalui wawancara mendalam, analisis dokumen, dan observasi lapangan. Temuan menunjukkan kontestasi berlangsung dalam lanskap pemilih yang makin figur-sentris, pragmatis, dan cair, sehingga mesin partai tetap penting namun tidak selalu efektif saat soliditas internal terganggu. Hasil elektoral mencatat pasangan Subandi–Mimik menang 559.878 suara (58%) mengungguli Iin–Edy 403.999 suara (42%). Kesimpulannya, kemenangan petahana dijelaskan oleh rekonfigurasi perangkat kuasa lintas arena (birokrasi/layanan publik, jejaring sosial-informal, dan arena diskursif) yang menggeser legitimasi dari basis formal-institusional partai menuju legitimasi berbasis pengalaman layanan, jaringan, dan narasi kinerja.  

Kata Kunci : Relasi Kuasa; Petahana; Partai Dominan; Pilkada Sidoarjo; Legitimasi politik.

This study examines the power relations behind an incumbent’s victory after a political break with the dominant party in the 2024–2029 Sidoarjo Regency local election, explaining how electoral success can persist when formal dominant-party backing weakens. It aims to describe the election’s socio-political context, identify emerging patterns of voter behavior, and theoretically analyze the power relations shaping the incumbent’s victory. Using a qualitative case study approach based on in-depth interviews, document analysis, and field observation, the findings show a contest shaped by increasingly figure-centered, pragmatic, and fluid voter preferences, where party machines remain relevant but face conversion limits when internal cohesion is disrupted. The electoral outcome indicates Subandi–Mimik won 559,878 votes (58%), defeating Iin–Edy with 403,999 votes (42%). The study concludes that the incumbent’s victory is best explained by a cross-arena reconfiguration of power mechanisms—bureaucracy/public services, informal social networks, and the discursive arena driving a shift in legitimacy from party-based formal-institutional authority toward legitimacy produced through governance practices, network capillarity, and performance narratives.

Keywords : Power Relations; Incumbent; Dominant Party; Sidoarjo Local Election; Political Legitimacy.