IRI Releases Survey of Indonesia Public Opinion

Jakarta, Indonesia – IRI today released its national survey of Indonesian public opinion.  The poll assessed national trends and mood of the electorate regarding important issues such as: the approval of national government policies, political pluralism, women and youth participation, potential for electoral related violence, citizen engagement in the political process, and perceptions of corruption.

Key findings in the public opinion poll included:

• Sixty-four percent of respondents believe that Indonesia is generally headed in the right direction;
• A majority of voters would support political party reform initiatives, such as public disclosure of party finances;
• Eighty-seven percent of respondents said they will vote in the legislative elections in April; and
• One-third of those surveyed are satisfied with the performance of the current national and local legislatures.

The poll was conducted January 12-22, 2009 by Lembaga Survey Indonesia (LSI).  Oversight and analysis was provided by Public Opinion Strategies, Alexandria, Virginia, USA.  The randomly selected sample consists of 2,189 adult men and women from all provinces in Indonesia.  The margin of error for the national sample is ± 2.1 percent in with a response rate of 91.5 percent.

IRI has conducted surveys in Indonesia since 2003.  The goal of the program is to both gauge public opinion and to use this information in IRI’s work with Indonesia’s political parties.