Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Agencies conducting public opinion surveys and quick poll counts have challenged the General Elections Commission's (KPU) plan to restrict the publication of their results.
Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said the KPU did not have the capacity or time to assess public opinion surveys. "There is no reason for the KPU to regulate our activities. They should focus on preparing for the elections," Qodari said Monday.
KPU member Endang Sulastri said last week the poll body was drafting a regulation which would require poll bodies to register with the commission.
The KPU has said in the past that opinion surveys funded by certain parties could influence voters, and are seeking a ban on the announcement of these results.
Qodari said prohibiting the publication of election surveys defied a law allowing the public access to information. "Surveys are the fifth pillar of democracy. Through them we learn about the public's aspirations on democracy and elections," he said.
Qodari said he doubted the KPU had the capacity to improve on the methods used by polling agencies. "Each agency has a different methodology. I do not think our methods require any change," he said.
Other survey agencies also opposed the KPU's plan. "We reject all kinds of regulation by parties which have neither the authority, science or competency to conduct such a survey," a forum statement issued on public opinion surveys said Saturday.
Members of the forum include the Indonesian Survey Institute, the National Survey Institute, the Indonesian Development and Research Institute, the Center for Policy Studies and Regional Autonomy at the Diponegoro University and the Information Research Institute.
"We research public opinion in line professionally with the code of ethics issued by the World Association for Public Opinion Research," the forum said. The plan to restrict the publication of opinion surveys violated the Constitution, the forum said.
Public opinion surveys and quick counts for elections have been on the rise since the country hosted its first ever direct presidential election in 2004. Observers have warned that surveys were prone to abuse by political figures and parties.
The People's Voters Education Network (JPPR) also warned that quick counts could provoke clashes among supporters of rival candidates in next year's elections. The warning came after more than half of the 345 regional direct elections held over the past four years ended in conflict.
Calls for the KPU to regulate pubic opinion surveys increased after a series of violent incidents sparked by the contradictory outcomes of quick count results.