Local Political Elites' Contestation Ahead of the Southeast Sulawesi Governor Election on Facebook

Officially, Indonesia's 2024 election campaign period is set for November 28, 2023 to February 10, 2024. But before that time, local elites have already appeared in public spaces to attract the attention of voters. In the context of the gubernatorial election in Southeast Sulawesi province, at least three gubernatorial candidates have shown themselves early in social media spaces such as Facebook. It is important to examine how each candidate contested, especially in relation to the issues they raised in presenting themselves and responding to other competitors. It can be argued that what they build in the digital space contributes to the tendency of voters to evaluate local elites who want to contest elections. To this purpose, the study was conducted using qualitative research methods by interviewing four informants and observing the official Facebook content of three candidates who have declared that they will run in the 2024 gubernatorial election. The research concluded that the candidates used three techniques to contest issues through Facebook. First, the elites use visual and verbal techniques to attract attention. Second, political experience, bureaucracy and fieldwork are elements that support their self-image —in addition to personal characteristics. Third, when it comes to responding to political opponents, elites use euphemisms to frontal ways to show their competence.