TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - There are a number of positive notes from the recent Jakarta Governor Election on Wednesday last week.
First and most importantly, the quick count result done by various surveys show that the sectarianism symptoms among voters in Jakarta is not as big as what people fear.
Incumbent pair Basuki Tjahaja Purnama-Djarot Saiful Hidayat, who were subject to attacks by religious issues, garnered the highest number of votes instead.
Big-scale rally staged several times after Basuki was accused of defaming Islam – those rallies are labeled with the so-called "defending Islam actions I-III"- did not completely erode supports for them.
With their two contenders Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono-Sylviana Murni and Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno capitalizing on the "religious advantages,” Basuki-Djarot was once thought to be eliminated.
It is because 85 percent of 7.1 million Jakarta voters are Muslims.
Approaching the D-day, the electability of the pain rose instead.
It is good to know the majority of Jakarta voters are rational voters. They see the performance and track record of the incumbent governor as a reference in decision-making.
As for Anies Baswedan, not all voters vote for him because of religious reason. Several surveys done outside polling stations show that only dozens of those who voted for Anies admitted using the reason.
Most of the respondents said that they voted for Anies because of campaign promises and better performances in three public debates than to other candidates.
Sectarianism and primordialism issues have become a major issue for the three-month campaign period.
If we only see that period, democracy seems grim.
It looked as if the quality of the general election declined because debate in the public and social media are more about the religion of the candidates instead of their programs.
That the result of the election dismissed the fear is something that should be taken as a positive thing.
The competition of governor candidates should be done by competing their ideas to formulate best public policies.
It is this thing that should be done by Basuki-Djarot and Anies-Sandi in facing the run off, scheduled on 19 April.
They need to argue their concepts, say on the continuation of the reclamation project in the northern cost of Jakarta.
The second positive note is that the turn out of voter turnout at the election reached 77 percent. The figure exceeded the voter turnout percentage in the elections in the previous years.
Enthusiasms and rationalism of Jakarta residents in voting needs to be maintained.
A healthy debate between candidates that involves public interest needs to be done more often.
In regards to this, the Jakarta Election Commission should improve the list of voters (DPT), which turned out to be full of troubles. On the Election Day, several Jakarta resident said they could not cast their vote because they were not registered.
The improvement of the list will further improve the quality of Jakarta Governor election.
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