Publication | Survey

Indonesia Post-Election National Survey 2014

 

Survey Materials

Survey Charts-English (PDF)

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has been active in Indonesia since 1998. Through its national electoral surveys, IFES has provided previously unavailable data for all stakeholders to gauge the level of public preparedness for electoral participation and public perceptions of the electoral process. The most recent of these electoral surveys, conducted in June 2014 in partnership with the Lembaga Survei Institute (LSI), captures the public opinion of Indonesian voters following the April 2014 legislative elections and leading up to the 2014 presidential elections. According to the survey, the majority of Indonesians profess satisfaction with the conduct of the April 2014 elections, while several findings from the survey point to areas which can still be strengthened toward a more effective and credible election process in Indonesia. Key findings from the survey include:

Survey Methodology

LSI conducted fieldwork for the survey from June 1 to 10, 2014. The base national sample for the survey consisted of 2,009 interviews in 33 provinces of Indonesia. Additional over-sample interviews were also conducted in selected provinces (Aceh, Maluku, Papua and West Papua). Information in this report is based on weighted data that is representative of the national population of Indonesia. The margin of error for the national sample is plus/minus 2.3%.

The electoral process of the April 9, 2009 legislative elections

• Eighty-two percent of Indonesians are very or somewhat satisfied with the overall voting process and procedures for the legislative elections.

• Eighty-eight percent say that the legislative elections were very or somewhat well-organized, and 80% rate the election as having been free and fair. A majority of Indonesians in all regions of the country hold these views.

• When asked to compare the organization of the 2014 legislative elections with the organization of the 2009 legislative elections, 31% say that the 2014 elections were better-organized and 52% say they had the same level of organization. Only 12% said that the 2014 elections were not as well organized.

Administration of the electoral process at the polling station level

• Seventy-eight percent of Indonesians surveyed rate the performance of polling station offices as “very good” or “good,” while 78% have the same opinion of the village election committees.

• Forty-four percent of voters responding to the survey say that polling station officials did not check their Resident Identity Card (KTP) at the polling station and 75% say that their finger was not cleaned for ink residue before the ballot was cast.

• While most respondents think that election results are accurate, a significant percentage of Indonesians (26%) believe that manipulation of election results occurred at some polling stations in the country.

Dissemination of information on the electoral process

• Seventy-seven percent of voters are satisfied with the General Election Commission’s (KPU) work in informing and educating voters about the election process, 74% are satisfied with its effort to ensure that election results are accurate and reflect how Indonesians voted, 74% are also satisfied with the KPU’s work in compiling and establishing the voter’s list, and 67% are satisfied with its ability to maintain independence from political pressures.

• Sixty-seven percent of Indonesians report that they saw voter information messages in the period leading up to the legislative elections.

• Forty-seven percent of Indonesians say that the KPU’s materials were the most informative way for them to learn about the election process, and the survey finds that 74% of Indonesians saw at least one of the messages that the KPU produced to inform voters about the election process.

• Only 20% of regular users of the internet say that they used the KPU website and only 10% say that they received information from social media.

The role of money in the electoral process

• When asked to compare the prevalence of money politics in the 2014 election compared to the 2009 election, 34% of Indonesians say that money politics was more prevalent in the 2014 election than in 2009, and only 10% take the opposite view.

• Despite the fact that survey respondents are often reluctant to report taking part in activities that may be illegal or unethical, 15% of Indonesians say that they were offered money or other rewards in exchange for their votes during the legislative election campaign, and 5% report that someone they know was offered a reward. Twenty-nine percent of Indonesians report that a legislative candidate built facilities, repaired roads, or paid for other services for their community in the lead-up to the legislative elections.

Participation of women as candidates in elections in Indonesia

• Of the Indonesians who report voting for candidates in legislative races in the April elections, only 9% report voting for a woman in the House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR) election, 9% in the DPR Provinsi election, 12% in the DPR Kabupaten/Kota election, and 14% in the Regional Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD) election. 

Preferences for candidates or parties  

• In the DPR election, 45% report voting for candidates only compared to 27% who voted for parties only, and 23% who voted for both the party and a candidate from the same party. In the case of the provincial DPR, nearly half (48%) voted for a candidate only, 24% for party only, and 21% for a party and candidate from same party. In the case of the DPR Kabupaten/Kota, these figures were 52%, 17%, and 23%, respectively.  

While identifying possible areas for improvement such as the training of polling station officials, the effectiveness of websites and social media as vehicles for voter-information dissemination, and societal resistance to voting for women, this survey suggests that, overall, Indonesians have positive assessments of the 2014 legislative election process. The KPU and electoral bodies at all levels of the electoral process are also rated positively by Indonesian voters for their performance during the legislative elections.