Indonesia | February 29, 2024
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128 million voters turned out to cast their ballot in the 14 February 2024 elections. Further to WWR’s discussion on preliminary results published on 1 March, a 2023 Pew survey on attitudes towards democracy in Indonesia showed mixed and seemingly contradictory results (The Diplomat, 7 March 2024).
World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller comments: “While 76% of the Indonesian respondents to the Pew survey said that representative democracy is favorable, 51% said it would be favorable to be ruled by a strongman and even 67% said they would prefer to be ruled by experts, not elected officials. While these statements can be understood in the context, a stunning 69% said military rule would be somewhat or even very good for the country. Although deeper analysis beyond looking at mere numbers is needed, what may seem self-contradictory could nevertheless explain the result of the latest presidential election. Prabowo Subianto groomed his image as a strongman for decades before switching to ‘cuddly grandfather’ in the recent campaign. Not only does Subianto have a military background and career, President Joko Widodo’s final cabinet was strongly influenced by ministers with a military background (see WWR’s Indonesia Full Country Dossier - January 2024, Trends 2b, p.26).”
Thomas Muller concludes: “Christians and other minorities might be more worried about another result of the poll. Indonesian respondents scored the second highest after Nigeria in wanting to see more ‘religious people’ having an influence on politics. This fits well into a long-running trend of growing Islamic conservatism in the country.”
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