The province (Indonesian: provinsi or propinsi) is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body. The governor and member of local representatives are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. With East Timor gaining its independence, Indonesia currently has 33 provinces, seven of which have been created since 1999 (North Maluku, West Papua, Banten, Bangka-Belitung Islands, Gorontalo, Riau Islands and West Sulawesi) and five provinces received special status: Aceh, for the use of the Sharia Law as the regional law of the province; Yogyakarta Special Region, for being governed in an ancient monarchy system; Papua, for implementation of sustainable development; West Papua, for granting implementation of sustainable development; and Jakarta Special Capital Region. Provinces are further divided into regencies (Indonesian: kabupaten) and cities.
The province (Indonesian: provinsi or propinsi) is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body. The governor and member of local representatives are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. With East Timor gaining its independence, Indonesia currently has 33 provinces, seven of which have been created since 1999 (North Maluku, West Papua, Banten, Bangka-Belitung Islands, Gorontalo, Riau Islands and West Sulawesi) and five provinces received special status: Aceh, for the use of the Sharia Law as the regional law of the province; Yogyakarta Special Region, for being governed in an ancient monarchy system; Papua, for implementation of sustainable development; West Papua, for granting implementation of sustainable development; and Jakarta Special Capital Region. Provinces are further divided into regencies (Indonesian: kabupaten) and cities.