Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The urban poor made it clear Wednesday that casting their ballots in Aug. 8 election was their only way of having a say in how the city is run.
"If you exercise your right to vote, there is hope for a better future," said Saiman, a street vendor in Jatinegara, East Jakarta.
He said voters should find out what programs were being promoted by the candidates during the campaign period, which will start on July 22.
"Please, learn carefully the campaign platforms of the candidates. Since they need our voice, they will do everything to approach us," he told a dialog organized by the Jakarta Resident Forum (Fakta) and the Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (Demos).
Saiman, who is the head of the street vendors association in Jatinegara, said most of its members were yet to decide on which candidate they would vote for.
Dozens of eligible voters from the lower income brackets took part in the dialog.
The community of street vendors in Jatinegara is member of the newly established Alliance for Democracy Working Group, a political block of non-partisan members set up by Fakta and Demos.
The alliance consists of, among others, the community of Rorotan residents in Cilincing, North Jakarta; community of Makassar village residents in Cililitan, East Jakarta; the community of Pondok Jati residents in Matraman, Central Jakarta; the community of street vendors in Blok M, South Jakarta and the Institute for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Saiman said that the alliance would draw up a social contract for the gubernatorial candidate who sought their support.
"The contract will be our tool to regularly control the work of the elected governor. As the voices of poor people are also crucial to determining the future of Jakarta, the next governor must be 'pro-poor' person," he said.
He said that the current administration often discriminated against poor people and gave better facilities to the wealthy.
"We don't like to work as street vendors. We do it because we do not have any choices. But we are often victims of the administration, who wants to beautify the city. They evict us without giving us solutions," he said. "However, we can't make this a reason for not voting in the election."
The alliance also urged the elected governor to revise the 1988 bylaw on public order and security and stop the eviction of poor people.
Fakta chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan predicted that up to two million people across the city would join the alliance. The total number of registered voters in Jakarta is 5.7 million.
The alliance last week called for the improvement of the election system so as to allow independent candidates and local political parties to race in Jakarta's gubernatorial election.
It also stressed the need for urban development that recognized plurality, which was based on community and respected human rights principles.
Meanwhile, Dani, an East Jakarta Cipinang Besar Selatan resident, said that none of the current candidates seemed to be "pro-poor".
"But I and my family will cast our ballots. I hope the elected governor can control the prices of basic needs that make life harder in the capital," said Dani, a father of five married children.
Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo and retired Army general Prijanto will take on Adang Daradjatun, former deputy chief of the National Police and his partner Dani Anwar, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party, in the election.