Tri Indah Oktavianti, Jakarta – Indonesians' commitment to and satisfaction with democracy has started to trend upward following a steep decline at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, a recent survey by Jakarta-based pollster Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) has found.
The survey, which polled 2,202 respondents nationwide from August 12 to 15, found that 67 percent of respondents were satisfied with democracy in Indonesia, while 71 percent believed that democracy was the best form of government.
"After six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public generally still express satisfaction with the system of democracy, support democracy and reject dictators or authoritarianism," the report said. "However, the satisfaction and commitment had dropped significantly."
In a similar SMRC survey conducted shortly after the start of the outbreak in March, 74 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with democracy, while 80 percent expressed commitment to the system.
These figures dropped significantly to 59 percent and 56 percent respectively in a similar poll conducted in early June.
The latest SMRC survey found there was a slight increase in support for both dictatorial and military rule since March, although both remain relatively low at 16 percent and 31 percent respectively.
Meanwhile President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's approval ratings remained mostly unaffected by the COVID-19 crisis, with 67 percent of respondents saying that they were satisfied or very satisfied with Jokowi's performance compared with 72 percent in March.
A survey conducted by Indikator Politik Indonesia in June also reported similar results, showing that Jokowi's approval rating remained high even as the public became more dissatisfied toward his administration and democracy in general.