With candidates counting down the days to the April 9 legislative polls, merchants and street vendors in Greater Jakarta still lack information about who to vote for – and in some cases, when. "Honestly, I'm still confused who should I vote for. Most candidates in the legislative elections can only give us fake promises," said a merchant at a cellular phone shop in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta.

Rizal, a street peddler near Tanah Abang market in Central Jakarta, said that even though the campaign had begun, he had not seen political parties or candidates who could clearly explain their platform.

"There's too many political parties and candidates trying to win legislative seats, and that confuses us," Rizal said. "They only prioritize their own groups and themselves."

Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said on Sunday that the new Law on Elections had been issued too recently. "Therefore, the General Elections Commission has had a limited time to do its job," he said. "Everything cannot be done ideally, such as public information campaigns for the elections."

Elections had been seen as a tool of democracy for Indonesia after 1999, Arbi said, but many ordinary people were still lacking electricity, while others continued to be affected by floods.

"Now, people are angry, that's the reason why they are reluctant to vote," he said. "They might think that it is better to sleep or work during the elections."