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Independents could win Medan election

Independent candidates have a big opportunity to win the upcoming mayoral election in Medan, North Sumatra, slated for Dec

Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post)
Medan
Mon, April 27, 2015

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Independents could win Medan election

I

ndependent candidates have a big opportunity to win the upcoming mayoral election in Medan, North Sumatra, slated for Dec. 9, 2015, according to a survey by the Election and Democracy Investigation Institution (LIPDem).

LIPDem director Henry Sitorus said that voters'€™ preferences in choosing a particular candidate were based more on the track record of the respective candidate than on that of the nominating political party.

'€œThis is a chance for independent candidates to step forward in the Medan election,'€ Henry told a press conference in Medan on Sunday.

He said that voters'€™ trust in nominating parties would be very low in the upcoming election but would be very high on the track records of candidates.

He said voters'€™ trust in nominating parties was only 21 percent, while for candidates it was 71.1 percent.

Other factors that received high appreciation from voters, according to the survey, Henry said, were candidates'€™ performances and programs.

Candidates'€™ performances received 55.7 percent, or ranked third in voters'€™ preference, while candidates'€™ programs received 53.3 percent, candidates'€™ religion was 51.9 percent and candidates'€™ sex received 33.3 percent.

Henry said that so far six community figures had received relatively high preferences from voters for the upcoming Medan election.

They were incumbent Mayor Dzulmi Eldin, former North Sumatra provincial administration secretary RE Nainggolan, provincial legislative council speaker Ajib Shah, House of Representatives lawmaker Ramadhan Pohan, former provincial councilor Sigit Pramono Asri and former Medan deputy mayor Maulana Pohan.

Political observer Hatta Ridho of North Sumatra University said that the chance of an independent candidate winning the Medan election was indeed big especially because past experiences showed that winners nominated by political parties were often involved in legal issues.

Hatta said that candidates nominated by political parties needed more funds compared to independent ones. This accounted for why many elected candidates were arrested for trying to recoup funds they had spent.

'€œPeople understand such practices,'€ said Hatta, also a former chairman of the Tebing Tinggi election body.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle'€™s (PDI-P) Medan branch chairman, Hasyim, said the role of political parties in the election was still being determined, arguing that there were still many traditional voters in Medan.

'€œWe had a capital of 180,000 voters in the 2014 legislative election,'€ Hasyim told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

He added that the figure could still increase if a nominated candidate had high popularity.

'€œSo far I do not yet believe that independent candidates can win the Medan election,'€ he said.

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