Parties to seek elderly vote

SURABAYA: By 2019 the country's population will grow by no more than 1 percent so parties will have to fight for the elderly vote, state minister of population said Monday in Kediri.

Haryono Suyono said that, by 2019, the elderly are expected to comprise 15 percent, compared to the current 10 percent, of the whole population.

For this election, the parties are focusing their campaigns on first-time voters.

Senior citizens in 2019 would be mostly well-educated and many would be retired professionals, he said.

"By then, politicians will bore them to death if they are full of promises and run campaigns like a parties the way they do now," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

"They won't be satisfied with jingoistic speeches. Golkar will retain popular support if its programs are good for business," Haryono said. (pan)