Race, faith, ethnicity go out the door

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 07/10/2009 2:54 PM  |  Headlines

Religion, race, ethnicity and gender are no longer determining factors in winning elections, as proved in the recent presidential polls, researchers claim.

A quick count conducted on voting day by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) showed voter behavior was now based on rationality and pragmatism, from previously being based on the character issues of faith, gender and ethnicity.

The latter issues had been raised during the campaign, most prominently in claims that Boediono, President Susilo Bambang Yudho-yono's running mate, had a Catholic wife, but were swept aside in the pair's decisive, yet still unofficial, landslide victory.

The LSI's quick count showed 78 percent of respondents who voted for Yudhoyono had done so because of his superior record on the economy and national security over the last five years.

"These character issues are already dead," LSI senior researcher Saiful Mujani said Thursday.

"We've warned on this frequently, but our politicians remain stubborn."

The quick count was conducted across 2,116 polling stations, and has a 2.8 percent margin of error, but only 1,984 voters were willing to say why they had voted the way they did.

The quick count showed 60.8 percent of respondents voted for Yudhoyono, followed by Megawati Soekarnoputri with 26.6 percent and Jusuf Kalla with 12.6 percent.

Yudhoyono had come under fire from his rivals for picking a Javanese running mate, which critics said went against the country's principle of pluralism.

Boediono, meanwhile, had to face the issue of his wife being Catholic - which did not say much for the critics espousing the concept of pluralism.

"These religious and racial issues are rubbish on the political stage, particularly in elections, because the public is getting progressively more educated about these sorts of things," Saiful said.

"There were gaps between leaders of religious organizations and their followers during the election. It seems voters don't listen to their leaders anymore if it's about politics."

Political analysts say the defeat of Islamic, Christian, Chinese and labor parties in the April 9 legislative polls is an indication that religious and racial issues no longer carry any weight for much of the voting public.

Saiful also said the focus during the campaign on the headscarf-wearing wives of Kalla and his running mate Wiranto had proven ineffective in getting the pair more votes.

"Our quick count shows 64 percent of Muslim voters who said they were members of NU *Nadhlatul Ulama*, and 58 percent who said they were members of Muhammadiyah, voted for Yudhoyono," he said, referring to the country's two largest Muslim organizations.

"Only 10 percent from NU and 18 percent from Muhammadiyah voted for Kalla."

The LSI's poll also showed 60 percent of all Muslim voters went for Yudhoyono, while only 13 percent went for Kalla.

"Megawati got a bigger portion of votes from minority groups, including Christians, Catholics and Hindus, compared to only 24 percent from Muslims," Saiful said.

Forty-two percent of Christians, 46 percent of Catholics and 53 percent of Hindus voted for Megawati, the quick count showed.

Minority groups have been fearing for their fate under the administration of Yudhoyono and Boediono, who are backed by a coalition that includes Islamic parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).

Since the beginning of the reform era in 1998, parties have consistently raised at least three issues to garner support: religion, economic equality and regional autonomy.

Saiful said character issues such as ethnicity were applicable in the competition between Kalla and Megawati.

A controversial statement by presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, a key member of Yudho-yono's campaign team, that it was not time for a South Sulawesi native to lead the country, sparked a backlash from Kalla's supporters, which gave the Vice President a commanding victory in the province.

Quick counts show Kalla, a native of the province, won 70 percent of votes in South Sulawesi, compared to 28 percent for Yudhoyono.

"When it comes to rational reasons such as economic conditions or programs, the real competition in the election is between Yudhoyono and Megawati," Saiful said.

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