People distrust political parties: LP3ES survey

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A recent poll revealed widespread distrust in political parties by people who said the parties failed to heed their aspirations.

Respondents were doubtful that the increasing number of political parties ahead of the 2004 general election would mean improved communication between parties and their constituents.

A poll conducted by the Institute for Economic and Social Research, Education and Information (LP3ES) indicated that 64 percent of people surveyed did not believe that the existing parties would live up to people's aspirations.

LP3ES deputy director E. Shobirin Nadj said that the poll indicated the thoughts of the majority of the people.

"Most respondents do not believe that the political parties accommodate their aspirations," Shobirin told a media briefing here on Thursday.

Shobirin was accompanied by LP3ES staffers Rahadi T. Wiratama and Wildan Pramudya Arifin, who had been involved in the research.

LP3ES carried out the research in urban and rural areas in 13 provinces from May 1 through 12, 2003, to find out the opinion of people on the increasing number of political parties. Some 3,000 respondents were surveyed via face-to-face interviews.

The survey disclosed that Golkar was the least distrusted party, as 19 percent of respondents thought that the party fought for people's interests. Most respondents (35 percent) did not give an evaluation and 23 percent said no political party took into account people's aspirations.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) won support from 9 percent of respondents, followed by the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), with 3 percent and 2 percent respectively.

Golkar finished second in the 1999 election after PDI Perjuangan.

Regarding the "popularity" of Golkar, the poll revealed that the opinion was expressed more strongly by people in rural areas (20 percent) than in urban areas (17 percent).

Responding to the query, "What party would you vote for should the election be held tomorrow?" most respondents (55 percent) gave no answer.

Golkar was chosen by 18 percent of respondents, far ahead of PDI Perjuangan (7 percent), PPP (5 percent), the National Mandate Party (4 percent), PKB (2 percent), and the Justice Party (2 percent).

The poll also revealed that 64 percent of respondents wanted a limitation on the number of political parties, with 13 percent of respondents rejecting a limitation, and the rest having no idea.

Shobirin said the desire to limit the number of political parties was not new. A similar survey last year showed that 82 percent of 1,250 respondents wanted fewer political parties.

When asked about the ideal number of political parties, most respondents (55 percent) said there should be one to five parties only, while 28 percent wanted the number of political parties to be limited to between six and 10.