Voters want security and growth: Eep<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Voters in the upcoming presidential election are likely to vote
\nfor candidates who can ensure security and economic growth, a
\nnoted political analyst says.<\/p>\n
Eep Saefullah Fattah of the University of Indonesia told an
\ninternational seminar on Tuesday that with such preferences,
\ncandidates with military backgrounds stood a better chance of
\nwinning the country's first direct presidential election.<\/p>\n
Two of five presidential aspirants participating in the July 5
\nelection are retired Army generals -- Wiranto and Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono. Three others -- Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais,
\nand Hamzah Haz -- are all civilians.<\/p>\n
A number of surveys have ranked Susilo, who was coordinating
\nminister for political and security affairs under the leadership
\nof former president Abdurrahman Wahid and incumbent Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, as the strongest presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
Trailing behind Susilo are Wiranto and incumbent Megawati
\nrespectively. Amien Rais, who is also speaker of the country's
\nhighest legislative body, the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR), ranks fourth, while the incumbent Vice President, Hamzah
\nHaz, is coming fifth.<\/p>\n
Eep further said that innate divisive forces would be the
\nsecond factor to influence voters in their presidential choices.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ricardo Carreras Lario, president of U.S.-based
\nCampaigns International organization, said the personality of
\npresidential candidates would also influence voters.<\/p>\n
He, however, stressed that pleasant personality should be
\nsupported by a good political party and adequate campaign funds.<\/p>\n
Eep predicted that Susilo would likely win the first round of
\nthe presidential election, with either Wiranto or Megawati in
\nsecond place.<\/p>\n
\"Susilo, Wiranto and Megawati will compete to pass the first
\nround of the presidential election on July 5,\" he told an
\ninternational seminar on Management, Strategy and Communication
\nfor Political Campaigns jointly organized by the Management
\nInstitute of University of Indonesia's School of Economics and
\nGeorge Washington University.<\/p>\n
He, however, said that increasing antimilitary sentiment could
\nundercut Susilo's popularity.<\/p>\n
\"Susilo's supporters, who are mostly intellectual people, may
\nchange their preference because of such sensitive issues,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Eep, the antimilitary sentiment would not really
\naffect Wiranto's presidential chances as he would gain votes from
\npeople in the grass roots. Wiranto is nominated by Golkar, the
\nwinner of the April 5 legislative election.<\/p>\n
Megawati, who has loyal supporters, still has to deal with her
\nhusband, Taufik Kiemas, who often makes controversial statements.<\/p>\n
\"Luckily, Taufik has been silent lately, although it may be
\nbecause of his illness,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Amien's chances of winning the election appear slim,
\nparticularly due to Hamzah's decision to run for the presidency.<\/p>\n
\"Most voters in the United Development Party (PPP) would have
\nvoted for Amien if Hamzah had not registered as a presidential
\ncandidate,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"But with Hamzah's candidacy, Amien's chances of winning the
\nelection are small.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/voters-want-security-and-growth-eep-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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