Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Nurdin Hasan – Dian, 19, a communications student at a private college in Jakarta, was enthusiastic when asked if she would vote in the April 9 elections.

"I will cast my vote, for sure. I don't want to waste my right to vote," she said recently.

Dian was conversant about the upcoming legislative elections. She said she already knew the House of Representatives candidate she would vote for. However, she was still unsure about the candidates for the local legislative councils and the Regional Representatives Council, or DPD.

"I don't know much about them. I read newspapers and watch the news on TV, but I still don't know anything about their ideas. Maybe I will vote for a political party instead of a candidate for the local council and DPD," said Dian, who will be a first-time voter in the legislative elections.

Kunta Laras, 21, a student at a state university in Depok, West Java Province, said that he would not exercise his political rights this year.

"Ah, come on. You know who [the candidates] really are," he said. "They make empty promises during the campaign season. After they are elected, they receive bribes and get involved in other corrupt practices instead of thinking about our fate. They promise to provide jobs, but how will they do it? They don't even know how."

Kunta said that he had consciously decided not to vote, even though it would have been his first time taking part in elections. "Some of my friends are excited about voting for the first time," he said. "They said it's cool. But they don't know anything about who they will vote for. I won't do something stupid like that."

Fajar Nur Sahid of the LP3ES, a social, political and research think tank, said that a number of polls showed that a high rate of young voters, particularly first-time voters, were planning to cast their ballots on April 9.

"They are willing to vote this year, mostly because of the influence of their families, neighbors and peers," he said, adding that campaign ads only functioned to confirm their choices.

According to the Central Statistics Agency, based on a sample of 171 registered voters, about 60 percent fall into the category of young voters this year. This refers to voters aged 20 to 40 years old.

JPPR, a nongovernmental organization specializing in monitoring elections, predicts that first-time voters would make up 30 percent of the total voters this year.

"Their number is significant, but they are overlooked by both the political parties and the KPU," said Jeirry, who is chairman of the organization.

The KPU, or General Elections Commission, has reached out to young voters only recently, conducting events at schools, universities and shopping malls. On Sunday, the KPU held an event in Senayan, Jakarta. The event, complete with musical performances, managed to draw hundreds of young people. However, few political parties attended the event, although they had the chance to promote themselves.

J. Anto, who chairs Kippas, a nongovernmental organization involved in educating young voters about this year's elections in Medan, North Sumatra Province, said that young voters were enthusiastic about voting but many of them were ill-informed.

"At a voting simulation attended by some schools here, most of the students did not know whether they had to tick a candidate or a party on the ballots," J. Anto said.

Elly Supriadi, executive director of Community for Aceh Resources Development, or E-Card – a local nongovernmental organization engaged in voter education for first-time voters in South Aceh, Southwest Aceh, and West Aceh districts – raised other concerns, saying that young voters in Aceh had little interest in the polls due to lack of information about the importance of voting.

"Initially, they were not too enthusiastic. But after we explained their rights as voters, and the impact of every single vote, they became more eager," she said, adding that E-card provided comic books and workshops to make the voter education program more appealing.

Fajar of LP3ES said that young voters and first-time voters would cast their votes for political parties and candidates who offer change. "We are having this 'fever of change' due to the US elections. It's a trend among young and first-time voters," Fajar said.

There may be a reason many political parties are ignoring young voters, with analysts saying that this group is generally better educated and often more critical of the ideas and programs endorsed by the parties.

Kacung Mardijan, a political analyst from Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java Province, said that most political parties were aware of the potential impact of young and first-time voters, but had done a poor job of attracting them.

"The parties have failed to accommodate the needs of young voters into party policies or programs," he said. "The young voters want assurance that the parties will be able to provide job opportunities and eradicate poverty."

Young voters will not hesitate to "punish" political parties that fail to fulfill their needs, Kacung said. He referred to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, which lost the 2004 elections after winning the polls in 1999.

"[Young people] voted for other parties which offered change," Kacung said, referring to the Prosperous Justice Party, or PKS, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Peace Party, or PDS, all of which did surprisingly well in the 2004 legislative elections despite being new parties.

Fajar suggested that political parties should focus more on the young voters due to their significant numbers. "It's not difficult to gain their trust," he said. "Just deliver real programs to attract and maintain their loyalty."