This paper presents a case study of elections for regent and vice regent in Gowa, South Sulawesi, in 2005. During these elections, political parties lacked influence and authority over their own candidates; their platforms were largely irrelevant; and the candidates themselves were weakly linked to their designated parties. Drawing on insights from the “institutionalization” analyses of Mainwaring and Scully, the article highlights the observed and expected effects of the candidates' independence from political parties and predicts that the parties in the region will continue to attract little allegiance from the voters, that electoral volatility will be high, party legitimacy low, and party organizations will be weakly institutionalized.