VZCZCXRO8662
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0036/01 1032045
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 132045Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0394
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0188
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0381
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0402
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0060

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SURABAYA 000036 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP; NSC FOR E.PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM ID
SUBJECT: SOUTH SULAWESI: MORE YAWNING, LESS YELLING WHILE GOLKAR 
SLIPS AGAIN IN ELECTIONS 
 
REF: 07 SURABAYA 72 
 
SURABAYA 00000036  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
This message is sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The 2009 Legislative elections in South 
Sulawesi were marked by a dip in turnout and a generally orderly 
process.  This was in stark contrast to the angry crowds held 
back by concertina wire following the hotly contested 2007 South 
Sulawesi governor's election.  Early results show that Vice 
President Jusuf Kalla and his Golkar party, once dominant in 
this, his home province, still lead President Yudhoyono's Partai 
Demokrat (PD) but only by four percent -- a dramatic shift from 
¶2004.  This snapshot of elections in one province demonstrates 
that the world's third largest democracy can successfully hold 
elections in the face of considerable logistic challenges.  End 
Summary 
 
Golkar's Dominance Ebbs 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Over the last two years, Golkar's dominance in eastern 
Indonesia has gradually weakened.  Corruption scandals and 
strategic missteps have further weakened Golkar in South 
Sulawesi, Vice President Kalla's own back yard (reftel).  In 
2004, Golkar dominated the polls in South Sulawesi's election to 
send legislators to parliament in Jakarta, garnering 41 percent 
more votes than PD.  Today, Golkar's advantage is just four 
percent. (Golkar 22.35 percent, PD 18.89 percent).  PD did even 
better in the local Makassar parliamentary contest, besting 
Golkar 22.6 to 19.2 percent respectively. The results of these 
legislative elections hold the promise of bringing more 
accountability to Indonesian politics with their focus on 
individual candidates rather than party lists. However, PD's 
success in South Sulawesi points to President Yudhoyono's 
popularity, rather than clear support for his party's policies. 
 
Enthusiasm Varies 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Observations at polling stations in the provincial 
capital Makassar and the regency of Gowa showed some disparity 
in voter enthusiasm, but an overarching desire to conduct the 
elections according to new, if poorly understood regulations. 
One voter characterized the race as a "family and friends" 
affair, since much of the campaigning was door to door and 
people said that they were choosing someone accountable to them 
instead of a party. 
 
¶4. (SBU) While villages and close-knit city neighborhoods seemed 
enthusiastic about the process, some wealthy voters were less 
impressed.  Makassar media reported a 30 percent increase in 
domestic air ticket sales for travel over the four-day election 
holiday, which included Good Friday, a national holiday.  Local 
advertisements for "voting vacation packages" suggested that 
many well-heeled residents saw the day as a vacation from 
voting.  Turnout at polling stations in poorer areas was indeed 
higher according to Elections Commission officials and our own 
observations. 
 
Counting Slowed by Sheer Size of Ballots 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Despite a 20 to 30 percent drop in participation in 
some parts of Makassar, voting and counting still moved slowly. 
Fresh logistical challenges brought on by new ballots and new 
rules meant that voters flowed through polling stations so 
slowly that eligible voters were sometimes turned away.  Voters 
required a lot of instruction to use the newspaper-sized ballots 
-- four per voter for national and local legislatures. 
Contradictory instructions from the Elections commission about 
how to mark the ballot just added to the confusion.  A 
requirement that tabulation be completed at polling stations 
immediately after polls closed meant that poll workers toiled 
late into the night.  By 11 PM, poorly lit side streets in 
Makassar were still full of poll workers on folding chairs 
straining to confirm the marks on ballots before crowds of 
witnesses. 
 
Cash and Stoves Get Votes 
------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The profusion of banners, signs and stickers for 
individual candidates throughout Indonesia proved the focus 
during this election had shifted from political parties toward 
 
SURABAYA 00000036  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
individual politicians.  While traditional Indonesian 
get-out-the-vote efforts like giving voters free t-shirts or 
simply buying votes persist, the impact is increasingly unclear. 
 Voters admit they readily take gifts from candidates and 
parties they don't intend to support.  Public policy did affect 
voter behavior, according to some working-class voters in Gowa. 
The central government's distribution of direct cash assistance 
and gas stoves in the weeks leading up to the election was key 
in swinging votes to President's Yudhoyono's party. 
MCCLELLAND