Surabaya, NU Online
The second round of the first-ever direct East Java gubernatorial election slated for Tuesday is prone to conflicts among the candidates' supporters and to an increasing number of apathetic voters, two analysts warn.
Political observer Kacung Marijan and economic analyst Indra Nurfauzi, both from Surabaya's Airlangga University, said the two pairs of governor and vice governor hopefuls had been unconsciously competing to disunite the people these past three months and had failed to offer comprehensive five-year programs needed to address the provinces's major problems, thus creating the conflicts.<>
The local political elite, religious communities, businesspeople and the bureaucracy were divided between the two pairs, whose campaigns consisted of financial and politically driven road shows, Kacung said. Eligible voters had no alternative charismatic and prospective leaders to vote for, as no strong leader had come forward who could make necessary changed based on concrete and workable programs, he added.
"Amidst this heated political scenario, the second round is apparently a race between the two candidates' supporters -- at the elite and grassroots level -- instead of it being a battle between two candidates highlighting their own leadership competence, visions and programs," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Citing as an example the Molotov bomb which had exploded at the residence of chairman of the provincial chapter of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Imam Nachrowi in Sidoarjo at dawn Thursday, Kacung said the incident had been the result of PKB's fragmented support for the two candidates and was closely connected to the party's rising internal conflicts.
According to him, the race is not setting a good example for the province's first-ever direct gubernatorial election but constitutes a good lesson to make the next ones more democratic.
The two pairs of candidates have been in a fierce competition to win eligible voters' confidence because as shown by a survey conducted by the Kompas daily at the end of October, Karsa had 39.2 percent of eligible voters, Kaji 31.42 percent while 29.56 percent of respondents had yet to decide.
The high number of undecided voters shows that the two candidates have failed to convince eligible voters and that the political positions of the two major parties -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar Party -- do not garner significant political support from the people at the grassroots level.
Indra said that besides fears of more clashes among the candidates' supporters, the apathetic and swing voters will not exercise their voting rights because they do not expect either candidate to make future changes in the province.
"Because the candidates have no strong leadership, reliable visions or concrete programs to address the province's major problems, the number of voters who decide not to vote will increase compared with the first round," he told the Post. (dar)
The second round of the first-ever direct East Java gubernatorial election slated for Tuesday is prone to conflicts among the candidates' supporters and to an increasing number of apathetic voters, two analysts warn.
Political observer Kacung Marijan and economic analyst Indra Nurfauzi, both from Surabaya's Airlangga University, said the two pairs of governor and vice governor hopefuls had been unconsciously competing to disunite the people these past three months and had failed to offer comprehensive five-year programs needed to address the provinces's major problems, thus creating the conflicts.<>
The local political elite, religious communities, businesspeople and the bureaucracy were divided between the two pairs, whose campaigns consisted of financial and politically driven road shows, Kacung said. Eligible voters had no alternative charismatic and prospective leaders to vote for, as no strong leader had come forward who could make necessary changed based on concrete and workable programs, he added.
"Amidst this heated political scenario, the second round is apparently a race between the two candidates' supporters -- at the elite and grassroots level -- instead of it being a battle between two candidates highlighting their own leadership competence, visions and programs," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Citing as an example the Molotov bomb which had exploded at the residence of chairman of the provincial chapter of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Imam Nachrowi in Sidoarjo at dawn Thursday, Kacung said the incident had been the result of PKB's fragmented support for the two candidates and was closely connected to the party's rising internal conflicts.
According to him, the race is not setting a good example for the province's first-ever direct gubernatorial election but constitutes a good lesson to make the next ones more democratic.
The two pairs of candidates have been in a fierce competition to win eligible voters' confidence because as shown by a survey conducted by the Kompas daily at the end of October, Karsa had 39.2 percent of eligible voters, Kaji 31.42 percent while 29.56 percent of respondents had yet to decide.
The high number of undecided voters shows that the two candidates have failed to convince eligible voters and that the political positions of the two major parties -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar Party -- do not garner significant political support from the people at the grassroots level.
Indra said that besides fears of more clashes among the candidates' supporters, the apathetic and swing voters will not exercise their voting rights because they do not expect either candidate to make future changes in the province.
"Because the candidates have no strong leadership, reliable visions or concrete programs to address the province's major problems, the number of voters who decide not to vote will increase compared with the first round," he told the Post. (dar)
