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.