JP/1/VOTE

JP/1/VOTE

People no longer vote along party lines: Analysts
M. Taufiqurrahman
Jakarta

Contrary to what happened in the April 5 legislative elections
when people voted according to their political party affinities,
the public displayed greater maturity during the presidential
election.

This newfound political rationality has resulted in major
differences between the outcome of the legislative election and
the provisional results of the presidential election, analysts
said on Tuesday.

Entjeng Sobirin Nadj of the Institute for Social and Economic
Research and Education (LP3ES) said that in the presidential
election the public had not voted along party lines, but rather
based on the personality and the perceived abilities of the
respective presidential candidates.

People voted for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono because they
believed that Susilo was the only candidate capable of solving
the country's myriad problem.

"Voters made up their minds about who to vote for based on
what they believed about the candidates, and they ignored the
advice provided by the political parties or the mass
organizations they subscribed to," he told The Jakarta Post in a
telephone interview.

Sobirin said that in the runoff, voters would likely be more
rational in their choice of candidates. "The candidates competing
in the runoff must present workable programs instead of just
simple charisma, because the public will have higher expectations
of the candidates in the runoff," said Sobirin.

Separately, analyst Ikrar Nusa Bakti of the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said that in the presidential
election it was local issues that mattered most in influencing
people's choices of candidates.

"Although the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)
stumbled in the legislative elections, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri still garnered a significant vote in North Sumatra,
as most of her previously alienated supporters voted for her once
more after she built an alliance with a political party with
religious affiliations popular among voters in that area," he
told the Post, referring to the Christian-based Prosperous Peace
Party (PDS).

The same pattern was repeated in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT),
where there are fears of an Islamic government should Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono be elected president, Ikrar said.

Susilo is backed by the Muslim-oriented Crescent Star Party
(PBB) led by Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza
Mahendra. "Because the people of NTT feared imminent Islamic
rule, they turned to Megawati, whom they think of as a secular
figure," he said.

Faced with limited options, voters would likely turn to the
candidates that would cause them the least possible harm, even if
they refused to vote for their political vehicles in the
legislative elections.

The provisional tallies provide clear evidence of this.

In East Java, the National Awakening Party (PKB) came in first
in the legislative election, garnering over 6 million votes.
However, in the presidential election most of the voters in the
province voted for Susilo instead of the presidential ticket
endorsed by the PKB, namely, the Wiranto-Salahudin Wahid ticket.

In East Nusa Tenggara, the Golkar Party came first in the
legislative elections by garnering over 750,000 votes, while the
PDI-P got over 380,000 votes. However, Megawati's vote in the
presidential election has provisionally increased to 756,289.
Trailing behind her is Susilo with 177,952 votes.

In North Sumatra, the Golkar Party came first with over 1.1
million votes and the PDI-P came second with over 800,000 votes.
In the presidential election tally, however, Megawati has surged
ahead with 1.7 million votes, compared to 1.2 million votes for
Susilo.