The Ethnic Identity Usage (Region/District) At the Governor Election in North Sumatra, Indonesia

In this reform era, the politicization of ethnic identity is happening, in which the ethnic identity of political competition is still being discussed. North Sumatra as the third largest province in Indonesia is a province that has multicultural profile which is filled by various ethnics such as: Malay, Karo, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola/Mandailing, Pakpak, Nias, Java, Minangkabau, Aceh, Chinese, Indian and others. With such multicultural features, the ethnic factors become interesting to be studied in relation to the direct governor election. The composition of the population of North Sumatra based on ethnic (region/district), namely: Java 33.4%, Tapanuli Toba 25.62%, Mandailing 11.27%, Nias 6.36%, Malay 5.86%, Karo 5.09% , Other tribe 3.29%, Chinese 2.71%, Minang 2.66%, Simalungun 2.04%, Aceh 0.97%, and Pakpak 0.73%. During this time, people in North Sumatra can be said to live in harmony though they have a difference destination.

Keywords: Ethnic Identity; Election; District; Harmony