Political Education Through the Empty Box Movement: A Social Network Study of GenPABUMI

Abstract

The single-candidate phenomenon in the 2024 Gresik Regency regional election, in which all 17 political parties backed one incumbent pair, gave rise to a civil society movement centered on the empty-box option. Gerakan Persatuan Pribumi (GenPABUMI) emerged as the driving actor, conducting political education through a series of organized activities. This study aims to understand GenPABUMI's social network during the 2024 Gresik election and identify the political education efforts carried out through that network. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine informants from GenPABUMI, the APD alliance, and community participants at the declaration events, supported by social media documentation and Constitutional Court case files, and analyzed through Putnam's social capital framework. Results show that GenPABUMI's network was built on trust inherited from GenPATRA, expanded through complementary collaboration with APD, and asymmetrically linked to formal institutions and local political elites. This network contributed to the empty box's electoral gains, which prevailed in five sub-districts that form the movement's base. Meanwhile, political education efforts occurred along an intersecting spectrum of consciousness-raising and electoral mobilization. The movement shifted the political orientation of some participants, though its effectiveness was uneven and constrained by incentive-based recruitment and the risks of elite co-optation. Normative autonomy from external interests remains essential for sustaining its political education function.