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Poll: Indonesian people disappointed with political parties and hope opposition parties can balance parliament
On September 1st, Indonesian soldiers guarded the Parliament building in Jakarta. A survey shows that nearly 60% of respondents hope that there will be opposition parties in parliament to balance the ruling coalition.
A public opinion survey conducted in mid August in Indonesia showed that nearly 60% of respondents hoped that there would be at least one opposition party in parliament to balance the government. This shows that the Indonesian people are uneasy about the ruling coalition led by President Prabowo dominating the parliament.
According to a survey conducted by the Indonesian newspaper "Lopan" on over 500 respondents from 38 provinces nationwide from August 11th to 14th, 58.4% of respondents hope that the legislative body can have at least one opposition party present.
The ruling coalition currently controls 81% of the seats in the lower house of parliament, with the remaining seats held by the Democratic Party of Struggle, which has stated that it is not the opposition party in parliament.
The survey results also showed that respondents were very disappointed with the performance of political parties. As many as 56% of respondents believe that political parties have failed to reflect the will of voters due to corruption, unfulfilled promises, and low public participation.
The investigation also found that there are differences among supporters of different political parties in the ruling coalition. Supporters of Prabowo's Greater Indonesia Movement Party and former President Suharto's Gorka Party tend to include the Struggle Democratic Party in the ruling coalition. Supporters of other political parties believe that the Democratic Party, which served as the opposition party during the administrations of Suharto and former President Yudhoyono, should take on an important role in holding the government accountable.
This survey was conducted before a series of violent protests erupted across Indonesia. This survey result helps explain why the massive housing subsidies for legislators exposed in August have sparked large-scale violent protests. The lower house of parliament has cancelled these controversial benefits.
According to statistics from the Indonesian Ministry of Interior, at least 228 demonstrations have erupted in 35 provinces of Indonesia since August 28th. The demonstration seemed to have subsided last weekend. |
