Jakarta – Jakarta Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) political science professor Burhanuddin Muhtadi says that Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest level of money politics in the world.
According to Muhtadi, Indonesia is only outdone by two countries in Africa, namely Uganda and Benin. Muhtadi made this statement during his inauguration speech as professor of political science at the Jakarta UIN on Wednesday November 29.
"This makes Indonesia the country with the third highest level of money politics in the world. Only being outdone by Uganda and Benin", he said.
Muhtadi said this was revealed from the results of research he conducted during the last two presidential elections in 2014 and 2019. The result was that around 33 percent or 62 million out of a total of 187 million voters included on the permanent voter list (DPT) were involved in the practice of buying and selling votes.
This was also revealed in data from his scientific research project titled Votes for Sale: Clientelism, Democratic Deficit and Institution, which was released during his inauguration.
Muhtadi added that the voters that were mostly targeted were sympathisers of political parties which account for some 15 percent. Meanwhile the remaining 85 percent were not targeted as they are considered unreliable because they are "floating" or swing voters.
"They're reluctant to target floating voters because they are seen as accepting the packages offered but their electoral choice cannot be guaranteed", he said.
Muhtadi said that although money politics only contributes to 10 percent of the vote, this number is considered quite effective especially in the context of legislative elections and when competing with fellow candidates from the same party.
"The 10 percent figure can be the determining factor in winning. The average margin of victory to defeat a rival is only 1.6 percent. So, [the figure of 10 percent] can make the differences between a candidate winning or losing", he said. (thr/bmw)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Pakar: Politik Uang di Indonesia Tertinggi Ketiga di Dunia".]
