T

he Jakarta office of the General Elections Commission (KPU) has been urged to not only target a high turnout for the upcoming gubernatorial election but also to devote serious and continuing efforts to encouraging the city’s middle and upper classes to vote.

A number of political observers told the KPU at a seminar in Central Jakarta on Wednesday that attracting the better educated members of the capital’s population would result in a quality election.

Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), said the city’s educated and better-paid residents were the most politically apathetic in Jakarta.

“It’s quite an unusual, but politically interesting, situation here. In Western democracies, better educated people are usually those who are more politically aware and active,” Burhanuddin said.

The analyst said that around a fifth of Jakarta’s 10 million population were college graduates, a ratio five times higher than that of the national figure, but they were often left out in election awareness and political campaigns by both the polling body and political parties.

“They tend to cater to people in the working class because they are easily mobilized,” he said.

He said, however, more and more middle- and upper-class people have become politically aware, with many of them engaging in virtual discussions on the Internet.

Speaking at the same event, University of Indonesia political observer, Andrinof Chaniago, said it should not be difficult for the KPU to be more innovative in raising political awareness ahead of the election.

“The KPU has a large budget for the election and the capital already has better media and communications infrastructure,” Andrinof said.

The Jakarta administration has allocated Rp 258 billion (US$28.12 billion) for the election budget, which incorporates possible spending for second-round voting.

The KPU’s chairman, Juri Ardiantoro, said the polling body had begun their awareness-raising campaign and would continue to do so.

“We have a special campaign team that we dispatch to subdistricts each day. We are also planning to hold open-air events like festivals to raise more interest in the election,” Juri said.

The polling body is also currently holding a tender for a number of media outlets and events, including a Rp 400 million worth tender for a televised talk show.

Six pairs of candidate hopefuls have registered at the KPU. The politically backed aspirants are incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and running mate Nachrowi Ramli; Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) patron Hidayat Nur Wahid and economist Didik J. Rachbini; incumbent Surakarta Mayor Joko Widodo and running mate, the former regent of East Belitung in Bangka Belitung Islands, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama; South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin and retired general Nono Sampono. Two independent pairs have also registered, namely, economist Faisal Basri and entrepreneur Biem Benjamin; and retired general Hendardji Soepandji and politician Ahmad Riza Patria.

Siti Zuhro, a political expert from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), warned that although the election was likely to provide more choice than the previous one, it could also lead to more intense friction.

“Political party campaign machines are divided into four; this factor alone is already crowding the arena,” she said.

The KPU has fixed July 11 as the date for the city’s second direct gubernatorial election. More than 7.5 million Jakartans are eligible to cast their vote at more than 15,000 polling booths across the capital.