Anas’ case will not reduce political participation

JAKARTA. The high profile graft case allegedly involving former Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum will unlikely affect voter turnout at the presidential and legislative elections later this year, Mochtar W. Oetomo, an Indonesian Research Institute (Insis) researcher, said.

“The public will not connect the elections to the alleged corruption case involving Anas because so many senior figures are already implicated in graft cases. These other cases are much worse [than the ones committed by younger political figures],” said Mochtar in Jakarta on Sunday, as quoted by Antara news agency.

He said people tended to remember cases involving senior figures. According to the results of a survey conducted by Insis, corruption cases that had snared young figures would not affect voter participation.

Insis’ survey found that presidential candidates from younger age groups would be a “magnet” to encourage participation.

“The fact is […] the public will be more confident voting if there are young figures as alternatives,” said Mochtar.

“If the presidential candidates are below 55 years, the turnout level will be 81.86 percent. The turnout numbers will drop to 63.36 percent if the presidential candidates are above 55 years.”

The survey was conducted from Dec. 4, 2013, to Jan.8 in 34 provinces across Indonesia using a multistage random sampling method.

The survey involved 1,070 respondents with an error margin of 3 percent and a trust level of 95 percent. Data was collected through direct interviews using questionnaire guidelines. (ebf)