Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Every weekend across Indonesia, convoys of buses, crammed with supposedly enthusiastic supporters of the 48 political parties approved to contest the June 7 elections, pull up at sports stadiums and parks.

The events are as much theatrical as political. Singers, parades of school children, even skydivers perform before a heaving mass of colourful banners. In Jakarta, estimates of crowd numbers at the big rallies have been as high as 300,000.

But how much Indonesians know or care about the first genuine democratic election in more than four decades is another matter. A nationwide random survey of views on elections – the first ever – has produced a picture of a population eager to vote and hopeful about the outcome but deeply ignorant about what elections mean.

The survey, released by the Asia Foundation, was carried out in all provinces except East Timor between late December and late January. The survey team interviewed 2593 eligible voters in person, with a sample that matched Indonesia's demographic mix, making it one of the most reliable studies of the country's voters to date.

It found only 3 per cent of Indonesians drew a connection between elections and democracy. Sixty-one per cent could not say what democracy meant and just 8 per cent of voters, who are required to register in the coming weeks, have any idea they need to do so.

"They don't have any civic education whatsoever," says Mochtar Buchori, a retired professor of education and co-chairman of Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP). "It's especially true of the older generation."

The concerns are reinforced by the presence of money politics. A rally of the ruling Golkar, widely reviled as former president Suharto's political machine, at Jakarta's Senayan Stadium attracted thousands of people. But many admitted being paid the equivalent of a day's wage.

The Asia Foundation survey, carried out by A.C. Nielsen, shows 55 per cent of Indonesians believe at least one of the old practices of election tinkering will recur. Yet they are surprisingly resilient. Despite economic collapse and political uncertainty, the national mood is upbeat: 71 per cent said they were confident of a happy future and 50 per cent believed the country was headed in the right direction.

On balance, they also think that, overall, the election will be free and fair – 58 per cent, compared with 4 per cent who do not.