Electronic Theses and Dissertation

Pilkada merupakan arena utama demokrasi lokal yang keberhasilannya tidak hanya ditentukan oleh kekuatan partai politik, tetapi juga oleh efektivitas komunikasi politik kandidat dalam membangun persepsi dan kepercayaan publik. Krisis kepercayaan masyarakat terhadap partai politik, membuka ruang bagi menguatnya calon perseorangan yang mengandalkan kedekatan sosial dan relasi interpersonal, sebagaimana tercermin pada kemenangan pasangan Muharram Idris dan Syukri A pada Pilkada Aceh Besar 2024 meski minim dukungan partai dan media arus utama. Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis strategi komunikasi politik pasangan Muharram Idris dan Syukri A selama kontestasi Pilkada Aceh Besar 2024. Penelitian ini menggunakan teori komunikasi politik dan teori representasi politik sebagai pisau analisis. Metode penelitian bersifat kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa strategi komunikasi berbasis pendekatan personal, ruang sosial informal, dan jaringan relawan organik efektif membangun kedekatan dan kepercayaan publik, dengan identitas religius dan latar belakang eks-GAM sebagai modal simbolik yang memperkuat legitimasi. Representasi yang terbentuk lebih dominan bersifat simbolik dan deskriptif, sementara representasi substantif masih berada pada tahap awal karena belum teruji melalui kebijakan pascaterpilih. Krisis kepercayaan terhadap partai lokal turut mendorong pergeseran legitimasi dari basis institusional menuju basis figur. Penelitian ini menyarankan agar kandidat memadukan komunikasi personal dengan kapasitas programatik, partai politik memperkuat representasi substantif pascapemilu, serta masyarakat bersikap lebih kritis dan rasional dalam menilai visi, program, dan kapasitas calon.
Kata Kunci: Komunikasi politik, Representasi politik, Kandidat Independen.

Local Elections (Pilkada) serve as the primary arena of local democracy, where success is determined not only by the strength of political parties but also by the effectiveness of candidates' political communication in building public perception and trust. The public trust crisis toward political parties, has opened up space for the rise of independent candidates who rely on social proximity and interpersonal relations. This was reflected in the victory of the Muharram Idris and Syukri A pair in the 2024 Aceh Besar Pilkada, despite minimal support from political parties and mainstream media. This study aims to analyze the political communication strategies of the Muharram Idris and Syukri A pair during the 2024 Aceh Besar Pilkada contestation. This research utilizes political communication theory and theory of political representation as the analytical framework. A qualitative research method was employed. The results indicate that political communication strategies based on personal approaches, informal social spaces, and organic volunteer networks were effective in building public proximity and trust, with religious identity and an ex-GAM (Free Aceh Movement) background serving as symbolic capital that strengthened legitimacy. The resulting representation was predominantly symbolic and descriptive, while substantive representation remained in its early stages as it had not yet been tested through post-election policies. The trust crisis toward local parties further drove a shift in legitimacy from an institutional basis to a figure-based one. This study suggests that candidates integrate personal communication with programmatic capacity, political parties strengthen substantive representation post-election, and the public remain more critical and rational in assessing the vision, programs, and capacity of the candidates. Keywords: Political communication, Political representation, Independent candidates.