Voters believe polls to be free and fair, survey reveals

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta

A large proportion of the country's citizens believe that the July 5 presidential election is likely to proceed freely and fairly, a Washington-based pollster said on Thursday.

Despite fears of "money politics" -- bribery to influence voters -- the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) revealed in its latest tracking survey that 84 percent of respondents believed the polls would, "at the very least, probably be free and fair".

It also found that more than 90 percent of respondents are likely to vote, the highest percentage ever recorded in IFES surveys.

Recent voter education efforts by the General Elections Commission (KPU) may have already made a slight difference, as the IFES found that respondents who did not know how to punch the ballot correctly had declined from 39 percent to 33 percent in its latest survey.

The survey was conducted between June 17 and June 26 and involved direct interviews of 2,000 respondents across the country's 32 provinces.

As for the presidential candidates, the IFES found that although his appeal had declined slightly, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was still the favorite for the top job, with 43.5 percent of respondents giving him the nod. In the previous poll, 45 percent favored Susilo.

Those who indicated that they would vote for Susilo said the former security minister was respectable and had good character, among other traits.

The survey showed that Susilo and running mate Jusuf Kalla would win support in almost all provinces except Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara. The breakdown showed 62 percent of respondents in Sulawesi favored Susilo-Kalla, 48 percent in East Java, 46 percent in Central Java and 45 percent in Western Java, compared to 29 percent in Bali and West- and East Nusa Tenggara.

The survey indicated three other candidates were vying for the critical second position.

Golkar Party candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto came second with 14.2 percent, a slight increase from 11.4 percent in the previous survey.

Incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was in third with 11.7 percent, ahead of Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN) with 10.9 percent. Incumbent Vice President Hamzah Haz came last with 2.4 percent.

Susilo's contenders collectively garnered only 39.2 percent of support from respondents.

IFES also found that 17.4 percent of respondents were undecided as to whom they would vote for on election day.