Political Parties Compose Strategies to Win Electoral Support

The Kompas survey shows the levels of favorability, preferences and electability of political parties are not linear. Strategies are needed to transform favorability and preference into electability.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Rows of flags of political parties participating in the 2019 Simultaneous Election decorate the flyover in the Senayan area, Jakarta, Sunday (7/4/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The electability of political parties as shown by the results of the latest Kompas Research and Development survey is still dynamic. A number of parties are designing competitive strategies to boost favorability while converting it into electability. Real public work and partisanship are the ways to make voters choose a party.

Referring to the Kompas Research and Development survey of electability taken from 29 April to 10 May 2023, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is still in the lead, with 23.3 percent, a slight increase (0.4 percent) on the January 2023 survey. Next is Gerindra, which rose from 14.3 percent to 18.6 percent, followed by the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and NasDem.

In the middle range of 2.9 percent to 5.5 percent are the National Awakening Party (PKB), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), National Mandate Party (PAN), Perindo and United Development Party (PPP). The remaining eight political parties running in the 2024 election are below 2 percent.

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However, judging the parties’ favorability perception, the survey shows Golkar Party is the best regarded at 86 percent. Followed by the PDI-P (83.8 percent), Democrats (83.5 percent) and Gerindra (81.2 percent). Eight other political parties have a favorability rating in the 50-80 percent range. Among these political parties there is the Perindo Party, which is not in the legislature. Six other political parties are under 50 percent.

High levels of favorability do not equate to party preferences. The Democrats, for example, even though it is the most preferred among 18 political parties participating in the 2024 election, with a figure of 57 percent, are far below the level of the electability of Democrats for voters, namely 83.5 percent. Other political parties are not much different.

Chairman of the Golkar Party’s Central Leadership Board (DPP) Ace Hasan Syadzily said in Jakarta on Monday (22/5/2023) that high favorability and public preferences should be linear with electability. If not, there should be in-depth research to reveal the cause.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Secretary General of the Golkar Party Lodewijk Freidich Paulus (left) submits the submission of candidates for DPR members from his party to KPU Chair Hasyim Asyari (right) at the General Elections Commission Office, Jakarta, Sunday (14/5/2023).

Apart from that, he admitted, political parties still have to work to convert favorability into electability. One way is to continue to disseminate information about the party's work, including the performance of Golkar Party chairperson Airlangga Hartarto as Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

"The general chairman as the coordinating minister for the economy has shown a performance that contributes very highly to public satisfaction with the government performance. This performance is widely praised for Indonesia's economic growth, which is above the global average. That should be considered by the public and have electoral consequences," he said.

Capital to take part in the elections

According to Ace, the level of favorability of the Golkar Party which is the highest among all political parties in Indonesia is the capital required to take part in the 2024 elections.

This also makes the Golkar Party more optimistic because it has the advantage against other political parties.

Deputy chairperson of Perindo Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah claimed the level of favorability for Perindo, at 73.7 percent, is a result of the work of the management, members and sympathizers who work at the community level. They carry out community empowerment work, especially among micro, small and medium enterprises, which need assistance and guidance.

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The work is also supported by media publications owned by Perindo Chairperson Hary Tanoesoedibjo so that more people know about Perindo's performance on the ground. The presence of a number of figures, former regional heads, and celebrities in Perindo helps boost the party’s favorability.

PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said the increase in the PDI-P electability proves the success of its huge collective work through a concrete program welcomed by the people. In addition, the increase also shows that PDI-P and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo are perceived by the public as a single unit. However, the PDI-P believes the level of party favorability can be boosted even higher. Similarly, the party’s electability. For this reason, the PDI-P will optimize humanitarian work and the organization of its party wings.

ISTANA KEPRESIDENAN/AGUS SUPARTO

From left, PDIP DPP Chairperson Puan Maharani, President Joko Widodo, PDIP Chairperson Megawati Soekarno Putri, PDIP Presidential Candidate Candidate Ganjar Pranowo, PDIP DPP Chair Prananda Prabowo pose for a group photo after the announcement of the PDIP presidential candidate held at the Batutulis Palace, Bogor City, West Java , Friday (21/4/2023).

Gerindra secretary-general Ahmad Muzani also believes real work for the public will have an implication for electoral achievement. Real work must be in accordance with the wishes of the people and really be felt by the people. For example, providing assistance with cheap basic necessities, providing free fertilizer for farmers, getting jobs, and helping people access to health and education.

The chairman of the Election Winning Section of the DPP for the PPP, Yunus Razak, was optimistic that the PPP can pass the legislative threshold of 4 percent in the 2024 election. With a favorability rating of 63.1 percent, the PPP will continue to move all elements of the political party, including party wing organizations, to convince voters to choose the PPP, especially attracting young voters. This group is a special target because they will account for more than 51 percent in the upcoming elections.

Real work must be in accordance with the wishes of the people and really be felt by the people.

Public confidence

A senior researcher at the Political Research Center for the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Firman Noor believes it is not easy to convert favorability into electability.

What is needed, according to him, is to foster public confidence in political parties. This can be developed by looking at a number of aspects, including capability, capacity and party integrity. For example, from the micro, the extent to which a party through its members in the regions can advocate and work in real terms for the community. Then, at the macro level, the extent to which the party through its members at the central level can fight for the rights of the people through legislation or bring them into national policies.

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"So, just knowing and liking, yes, maybe people know and like celebrity politicians. However, when the celebrity politicians then run for office, the public will think again, whether these persons can be trusted to do things. Moreover, maybe the capabilities and capacity of the politicians are not yet apparent to allow rational choices to emerge, which leaves the people favorable but undecided," said Firman.

According to him, a heavy challenge exists for new political parties whose favorability is still low. Because parties that have long been active have been more imprinted on the minds of voters. In addition, in terms of figures, new political parties are not so strong. Furthermore, these political parties also do not have a strong political agenda that can easily be digested by the electorate.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.