<![CDATA[Village head elections (Pilkades) should ideally follow programmatic logic, yet in practice they are often characterized by personal and transactional clientelism. This study analyzes the forms of clientelism and the factors shaping it in a Pilkades in Simeulue Regency, Aceh, involving informants such as the elected village head, campaign team members, hamlet heads, village officials, the Village Consultative Council (BPD), and voters. Employing a qualitative case study approach, the analysis draws on Hicken's (2011) four elements of clientelism and Aspinall and Berenschot's (2020) framework on brokerage and decentralization in Indonesia's patronage democracy. Findings reveal that clientelism operates systemically through dyadic relationships rooted in kinship, economic dependence, and organizational proximity; contingent exchanges manifested in implicit vote-buying, selective social assistance, and job promises; hierarchy legitimized by kinship ties and incumbency status; and sustained relations before and after the election. The study offers a conceptual contribution by proposing the "community-based broker" an actor whose mobilization effectiveness derives from pre-existing communal authority rather than formal campaign assignments. This practice is reinforced by village-level decentralization, the role of community brokers, and the community's economic dependence on the patron.]]>
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