Poll show Golkar voters shifting to non-party candidates

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta

A poll revealed that while presidential candidate Wiranto and his running mate Solahuddin Wahid, who are representing the Golkar Party, are perceived as the most caring when it comes to the common people, they do not have much support from Golkar backers.

Of 1,600 respondents, 27.9 percent said Wiranto, a retired general, and Solahuddin, a cleric formerly with the national human rights body, cared most for the people compared to other candidates.

However, the pair will not be able to rely on votes from Golkar supporters, the survey suggested, as only 9.7 percent of the 22.2 percent of respondents who said they voted for Golkar in the April legislative election said they would vote for Wiranto- Solahuddin.

The survey, the findings of which were presented on Tuesday, was conducted by the Institute for the Study and Advancement of Business Ethics (LSPEU), led by researcher Fachry Ali.

The survey was conducted in 32 provinces from June 4 through June 28. Respondents who were interviewed face-to-face were selected through a random sampling. Researchers claimed a margin error of about 2.4 percent.

Of the respondents who said they voted for Golkar in April, 0.8 percent said they would vote for President Megawati Soekarnoputri; 1.1 percent said they would vote for Amien Rais from the National Mandate Party (PAN); and 6.6 percent said they would vote for Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono from the Democrat Party.

None of those who voted for Golkar in April said they would vote for Hamzah Haz from the United Development Party (PPP).

Others said they were still undecided on who they would vote for in the presidential election, while the rest declined to answer the question.

Fachry said the presidential candidates were not only receiving support from members of their own parties, but also from members of other parties. "This is interesting; it also happens in other countries," he said.

Apart from the expected "lost" votes from Golkar, the survey suggested that other parties could also lose votes for their presidential candidates, suggesting that voters taking part in the country's first direct presidential election would make their own choices regardless of who their parties were backing.

Respondents were also asked to describe their perceptions of the five presidential candidates on various issues, including the candidates' concern for the problems of common people, their respective track records and their ability to solve crises.

On the candidates' concern for the people, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and running mate Jusuf Kalla came second (25.5 percent) after Wiranto-Solahuddin, followed by Amien Rais-Siswono Yudohusodo (21.6 percent) and Hamzah Haz-Agum Gumelar (19.2 percent). Coming in last on this issue was incumbent Megawati Soekarnoputri and running mate Hasyim Muzadi (16.7 percent).

On the issue of corruption, respondents named Amien-Siswono as the cleanest pair (28.3 percent), followed by Hamzah-Agum (15.5 percent), Susilo-Kalla (10.6 percent), Wiranto-Wahid (5.4 percent) and Megawati-Hasyim (3.6 percent).

Megawati-Hasyim were perceived as the pair that would be least able to solve the economic crisis (32.6 percent), followed by Hamzah-Agum (23.5 percent), Wiranto-Wahid (10.8 percent), Susilo- Kalla (9.3 percent) and Amien-Siswono (6.4 percent).