The Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) saw the highest voter turnout in the history of the capital’s gubernatorial elections, with 78 percent of 7.2 million registered voters casting their ballots on
voting day.

This record-breaking level of participation is largely believed to be the result of high religious tensions running throughout the election, which peaked on Wednesday and saw incumbents Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat go head-to-head with Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno.

Turnout increased from 75.75 percent recorded in the first round of voting on Feb. 15 and surpassed the KPU’s 77.5 percent target for the 2017 simultaneous regional election.

The heated 2014 presidential race between Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto garnered a voter turnout of 72.3 percent.

Religious sentiments, which were fostered throughout the campaign period, were effective in mobilizing voters to exercise their rights as Jakarta residents, according to Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), which conducted an exit poll following the runoff election.

Many respondents claimed they had cast their ballots as part of a duty to defend their religion and Muslim leaders, said SMRC program director Sirajuddin Abbas.

They conceded they were driven by a doctrine that mandates Muslims to vote only for Muslim candidates. To go against it would be a sin.

This doctrine was spread widely among voters at the grassroots level, such as in mosques and pengajian (Islamic learning forum), Sirajuddin said.

“In early April, 51 percent of Muslim voters said they wanted to be led by Muslim leaders. That number increased to 58.4 percent in the exit poll,” he said.

SMRC found that Anies and Sandiaga were chosen by around 67 percent of Muslim voters, another increase from the first round when, combined, Anies-Sandiaga and Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni, the third pair in this year’s gubernatorial race, garnered 65 percent of Muslim votes.

Muslim votes for Ahok decreased from 38 percent in the first round to 32 percent in the runoff election, Sirajuddin said.

Election Monitoring Independent Committee (KIPP) secretary general Kaka Suminta echoed those same sentiments, saying ethnic, religious, racial and social issues — often referred to as SARA — had deeply affected Wednesday’s turnout.

“Tensions [surrounding those issues] made residents feel that they needed to ‘save’ Jakarta through voting,” he said.

“The emotional factor in this election was high, which urged residents to go to polling stations and cast their ballots.”

Despite the high participation, Kaka added, much still needs to be done to nurture democracy in the capital as some parties may still seek to exploit the aforementioned social sentiments.

Meanwhile, KPU Jakarta commissioner Dahlia Umar said the turnout indicated that public political awareness is increasing, thanks to strong candidates such as Ahok and Anies.

“The candidates’ profiles were significant in determining the [high] turnout. People felt that they had to vote for those candidates,” she said.

The inclusive voter list (DPT) and high media coverage also contributed to the increased voter turnout, with residents receiving more than sufficient information on each candidate, she added.

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