Apriadi Gunawan, Jakarta – Fifty percent of prospective voters in the upcoming regional elections in North Sumatra will cast their votes based on which candidate has given them the most money prior to voting day, according to a researcher.

Political observer Ridwan Rangkuti of the University of North Sumatra, said this sentiment was inevitable and constituted a trend.

He said it meant candidates had no other choice but to gratify their voters. "The more money candidates can offer, the more likely they are to be voted for," Ridwan told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Nine regencies and municipalities in North Sumatra are set to hold regional elections simultaneously on Wednesday. They are Medan, Binjai, Serdang Bedagai, Tebing Tinggi, Asahan, South Tapanuli, Sibolga, Pakpak Bharat and Toba Samosir.

Ridwan said the finding was revealed by a recent study that was conducted in response to allegations of vote bribing in recent political elections. "The research shows that money is the motivation for between 50 and 55 percent of the voters in the province," he said.

Candidates typically offered individual voters between Rp 50,000 and Rp 200,000, he added.

Asked how the people would decide between candidates in the event that all offered money, Ridwan mentioned three factors – who gives the money, how much and when it is given.

"There is a pattern that whoever gives money the latest and in the biggest sum will most likely be chosen," he said. "They [voters] also prefer to vote for someone with a better [social] background," he said.

Ridwan also said voters tended to vote based on money they had received because of previous disappointment with past candidates' failure to fulfill their promises once they were elected. "This is what is called political liberalization. Politics is considered a market," he said.

Mukhlizardy Mukhtar of Binjai municipality said that vote bribing became more intimidating the week after voting day, when candidates began demanding to see voters' ballot cards – or copies of them.

He said each of the campaign teams of the three pairs of candidates running for election in his region had offered him different sums of money.

"The offers ranged between Rp 100,000 and Rp 150,000. What they asked for was just a photocopy of my voting card," Mukhlizardy said Monday. He said he had not decided who to vote for yet and was holding off to see if any of the candidates would up their previous offer.

One of the Medan mayoral candidates, Arif Nasution, an independent candidate, agreed that there had been a growing tendency for voters to favor candidates who had paid them the most. "This is especially evident in rural villages but not in urban communities," Arif said.

Asked if he would offer money to voters, Arif said he would not. "All I can offer is programs to develop Medan in the future. If this is considered old-fashioned then I can only surrender to God's will," said Arif, who is also dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of North Sumatra.