A doctoral study by Pangi Syarwi Chaniago, founder of Voxpol Center\nResearch and Consulting, has mapped the factors influencing split ticket\nvoting in the 2019 Simultaneous Elections, focusing on West Sumatra and\nEast Nusa Tenggara (NTT).<\/p>\n
Pangi explained that split ticket voting is the behaviour of voters\nwho choose one political party for the legislative election but a\ndifferent presidential candidate not supported by that party. He noted\nthe phenomenon is important to study because the 2019 election was the\nfirst to hold legislative and presidential elections simultaneously.<\/p>\n
The research, conducted using a quantitative approach with 1,600\nrespondents and analysed using Structural Equation Modeling-Partial\nLeast Squares (SEM-PLS), found that the rate of split ticket voting in\nWest Sumatra reached 37.5 percent, higher than in NTT, which stood at\n20.2 percent. This indicates that the decision-making mechanisms of\nvoters in the two regions differ, and the factors influencing voting\nbehaviour are not uniform.<\/p>\n
The study tested four main variables: party identification, issue\norientation, candidate personalisation, and shared interest orientation.\nResults showed that party identification had a negative effect on split\nticket voting in both regions, meaning the stronger a voter\u2019s\npsychological attachment to a party, the less likely they were to split\ntheir vote.<\/p>\n
However, the influence of issue orientation differed. In West\nSumatra, attention to political issues actually increased the tendency\nfor split ticket voting, whereas in NTT, issue orientation strengthened\nvoting consistency and reduced the likelihood of splitting votes.\nDifferences were also found in shared interest orientation. In West\nSumatra, shared interests between voters and parties or candidates\nreinforced political consistency, while in NTT, this factor encouraged\nvoters to split their choices because legislative parties and\npresidential candidates were perceived as representing different\ninterests.<\/p>\n
Candidate personalisation was found to have no significant effect on\nsplit ticket voting in either province. Pangi stated that voting\ndecisions were more determined by party identification, issues, and\nshared interests than by the appeal of candidate figures.<\/p>\n
The research also found that shared interest orientation acts as a\nmediating variable that strengthens the relationship between party\nidentification and split ticket voting. In West Sumatra, it reinforced\nthe effect of party identification in suppressing vote splitting, while\nin NTT, it increased the tendency to split votes.<\/p>\n
Pangi concluded that split ticket voting in Indonesia is not merely a\nvoter strategy to create a balance of power between the executive and\nlegislative branches, but rather the result of interaction between party\nloyalty, issue orientation, shared interests, and the socio-political\ncontext of each region. He said the study offers a contextual,\nmultidimensional model of split ticket voting that is more relevant for\nexplaining voter behaviour in Indonesia\u2019s presidential multiparty\ndemocracy.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/doctoral-study-maps-factors-behind-split-ticket-voting-in-two-indonesian-regions-1784555480", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }