Several NGOs strive to educate voters
Several NGOs strive to educate voters
M. Taufiqurrahman and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken over
from the General Elections Commission (KPU) in educating voters
about the unprecedented presidential election.
Radio 68H, one of the NGOs, said on Thursday it had been
broadcasting voter education programs since the run-up to the
April 5 legislative election and that was expected to last until
September.
"We have been conveying a message to the public, including the
need to exercise common sense in response to candidates' promises
and how to correctly perforate the ballot paper," Radio 68H
executive director Santoso said.
He said such public service announcements were aired up to
seven times a day and had received a positive response from the
public.
Santoso believed that the voter education program was more
effective than street rallies organized by the candidates.
Earlier, a survey by the International Foundation for Election
Systems (IFES) revealed that 39 percent of respondents did not
know the right way to vote.
Effendy Panjaitan of the Medan, North Sumatra-based Institute
of Policy Studies and Advocacy (Elsaka) said it was targeting
women in their voter education programs.
He said that ahead of the April 5 legislative election, women
were left ignored in voter education.
"However, despite the lack of education, women were
enthusiastic in exercising their right to vote in the election.
Our current program will concentrate on them," he said.
Elsaka, he said, aimed at reaching up to 90 percent of
eligible female voters in North Sumatra.
The KPU announced that 27 NGOs would be awarded grants to
carry out voter education programs for the presidential election.
The NGOs, which were hand-picked from 250 organizations around
the country, will rack up a total of Rp 25 billion in funds
provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Separately, an opinion poll conducted by the Institute for
Democracy Studies (LKaDe) showed that although the candidates
running under the Democratic Party flag, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Jusuf Kalla, remained on top, their popular appeal had
diminished in the public's eye.
The survey said the popularity of the Susilo-Kalla ticket had
dropped to 33.6 percent from around 40 percent previously, in a
survey held in late May.
The survey found a correlation with a smear campaign against
the pair, including the alleged involvement of Susilo -- a
retired four-star general -- in the July 27, 1996, incident,
which marked the bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) headquarters.
Another issue that was damaging to their image was their
stance toward the application of sharia (Islamic law), the LKaDe
survey said.
The survey, carried out between June 16 and June 18,
interviewed 2,000 respondents in 15 cities about their preferred
presidential candidates.
M. Taufiqurrahman and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken over
from the General Elections Commission (KPU) in educating voters
about the unprecedented presidential election.
Radio 68H, one of the NGOs, said on Thursday it had been
broadcasting voter education programs since the run-up to the
April 5 legislative election and that was expected to last until
September.
"We have been conveying a message to the public, including the
need to exercise common sense in response to candidates' promises
and how to correctly perforate the ballot paper," Radio 68H
executive director Santoso said.
He said such public service announcements were aired up to
seven times a day and had received a positive response from the
public.
Santoso believed that the voter education program was more
effective than street rallies organized by the candidates.
Earlier, a survey by the International Foundation for Election
Systems (IFES) revealed that 39 percent of respondents did not
know the right way to vote.
Effendy Panjaitan of the Medan, North Sumatra-based Institute
of Policy Studies and Advocacy (Elsaka) said it was targeting
women in their voter education programs.
He said that ahead of the April 5 legislative election, women
were left ignored in voter education.
"However, despite the lack of education, women were
enthusiastic in exercising their right to vote in the election.
Our current program will concentrate on them," he said.
Elsaka, he said, aimed at reaching up to 90 percent of
eligible female voters in North Sumatra.
The KPU announced that 27 NGOs would be awarded grants to
carry out voter education programs for the presidential election.
The NGOs, which were hand-picked from 250 organizations around
the country, will rack up a total of Rp 25 billion in funds
provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Separately, an opinion poll conducted by the Institute for
Democracy Studies (LKaDe) showed that although the candidates
running under the Democratic Party flag, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Jusuf Kalla, remained on top, their popular appeal had
diminished in the public's eye.
The survey said the popularity of the Susilo-Kalla ticket had
dropped to 33.6 percent from around 40 percent previously, in a
survey held in late May.
The survey found a correlation with a smear campaign against
the pair, including the alleged involvement of Susilo -- a
retired four-star general -- in the July 27, 1996, incident,
which marked the bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) headquarters.
Another issue that was damaging to their image was their
stance toward the application of sharia (Islamic law), the LKaDe
survey said.
The survey, carried out between June 16 and June 18,
interviewed 2,000 respondents in 15 cities about their preferred
presidential candidates.