Abstract: The paper is aimed at constructing electoral hostility index for 282 district elections (PILKADA) during 2005-07 and examining the socio-economic determinants of local  democratic maturity by way of testing the validity of modernization hypothesis in the context of Indonesia’s local democracies. There are 67 PILKADAs (out of 282) categorised as medium, high and very high levels of electoral hostility. The picture is dominated by hostilities directed towards the local elections commission and took place after the voting day.

The large sample quantitative analysis employs ordered logistic regression. The results show some evidence for the validity of modernization hypothesis in the context of Indonesia’s local democracies. Higher PILKADA hostility or less mature local democracy tends to be experienced by districts with lower income. Higher PILKADA hostility also positively correlates with poverty incidence. These imply that democracy cannot be deepened in the absence of economic development. Therefore, growth is necessary for democratic consolidation, especially in young democracies. At the moment, it is rather irrelevant to ask what come first, democracy or economic prosperity; but one should look from the perspective that the two reinforce each other in a symbiotic relationship. Contrary to the modernization theory, educational attainment seems to encourage PILKADA hostility. This might be

temporary and can be seen from the perspective that education makes people more concern to any irregularities and poor management of electoral process. However, in the long run, education should contribute to more mature local democracies.