Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) says more than 65 percent of eligible voters in Jakarta will not cast ballots in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial election.
The research center defines this non-voting group as eligible voters who were left off voter lists and those who have been registered but will not exercise their right to vote.
After a three-day field survey and interviews with 600 randomly selected respondents, with an error margin of 4.1 percent, the LSI found 52 percent of eligible voters were not registered or did not know if they were on the voter lists.
"That number includes eligible voters who believe in the benefits of the forthcoming Jakarta election," said LSI executive director Saiful Mujani at a media conference. "But they still won't be able to vote. Therefore, we consider them part of the potential non-voting group."
The LSI, one of the leading research centers in the country, found at least 13 percent of eligible voters in the city were registered but were choosing not to vote because they did not like either of the two candidates in the election.
Saiful said the majority of those in the potential non-voting group were well educated, financially secure, aware of democracy and critical of the administration. "It (not voting) is their way of protesting the corrupt democracy," he said.
The candidates in the election are incumbent Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo and his running mate Prijanto, a retired Army general; and former National Police deputy chief Adang Daradjatun and running mate Dani Anwar.
The Jakarta Elections Commission closed voter registration on June 28, with 5.7 million voters registered, or about 75 percent of Jakarta's total population. Previously, several research centers discovered around 1.2 million of Jakarta's eligible voters were not registered.
According to the LSI, non-voters in earlier regency, city and provincial elections around the country accounted for, on average, 25.03 percent, 34.13 percent and 34.84 percent of eligible voters, respectively.
"Jakarta is both a city and a province. The 65 percent figure is an alert that the Jakarta election results could be unreliable," said Saiful.
He warned of potential conflicts if the election proved close, with just a few percentage points separating the two candidates. "The losing candidate will claim some of the votes from the non-voting group as his," he said.
The Jakarta Legal Aid Institution and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have encouraged voters to cast ballots.
Legal Aid Institution director Asfinawati said during a discussion Thursday that Jakartans should forge political contracts with the governor candidates, to hold the eventual winner to his campaign promises.
"We should support a new governor who develops a system that benefits all society, instead of benefiting just a few businessmen who have access to city officials because they have money," she said.
Any governor who is concerned with city development issues, she said, should encourage the people to be critical of the administration by forming watchdogs.
Another speaker at the discussion, CSIS political expert Indra J. Pilliang, said the public should increase their monitoring of the administration.
However, he warned some groups might try to misuse these watchdogs to foil attempts to improve the city, "as money is all that matters to them". (10)
Jakarta's voting population
- Registered voters: 5.7 million
- Eligible voters: 7.8 million
- Jakarta population: 9.04 million
From various sources