Between The Presidency Of The Survey Institute And Propaganda Equipment

Illustration Of Images By Ilham Andri Winarko VOI

The 5-year democratic party campaign has started. The public is asked to be aware of the results of misleading political surveys in the days approaching the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres).

Director of Deep Indonesia, Neni Nurhayati reminded all survey institutions that occurred in the 2014 General Election and the 2019 Election did not happen again. According to Neni, in the last two elections, the survey agency was not serious in providing all reports of their work results to the KPU related to the methodology and source of funding.

"The seriousness and independence in working with scientific workers with their statistical method is certainly awaited by the public. It is very strange that survey institutions are not transparent and accountable, especially when conveying research results with the purpose of publication. Do not let survey institutions become prostitution democracy in the 2024 election," he said.

"When I monitored the 2014 or 2019 elections yesterday, it turned out that the survey agency was not serious when submitting reports to the general election commission about the methodology, where did the sources of funds and so on come from," said Neni in a discussion on the 'Membagangkan Survey', Saturday, November 25.

Neni also highlighted the funding of the survey institute which was not transparent and accountable. Especially when survey institutions do not want to convey research results and differences when published.

"So the matter of budget funding when reported to the KPU is not transparent and accountable and irrational when we check documents so it is not uncommon for survey institutions who do not want to explain where they came from, including the results of their research which are different from those published," explained Neni.

Neni added, by not being transparent and accountable, survey institutions, it becomes a serious problem. The reason is, the survey results are one of the parameters of quality democracy and integrity.

The Expansion Of Fast Counting Business

After the 1998 reform era in Indonesia, political survey institutions mushroomed. Regional head elections and president are the arena for proof of their existence. The number is increasing every year. They are scientific workers in survey institutions as if competing to be the first, able to predict the winner of the regional elections and presidential elections, before the general election commission released its official announcement.

To produce predictions that are close to precision over the winning of candidate leaders, it is not easy how. The survey agency's work procedures are very strict and detailed. There are not a few rounds of money circulating in each of these activities. They also approach the political marketing communication strategy to the public.

Every moment of the presidential election or regional head election, it doesn't just make you curious who will be elected. But there is also one thing that is widely mentioned after the voting activity is held, namely a quick count aka quick count.

According to the Big Indonesian Dictionary, quick count comes from the word "calculation" which means "calculation process" and "fast" which means "immediately". In short, fast count is defined as a method to find out the results of general elections by verifying through a sample of election results at polling stations or polling stations.

Many political survey institutions, as well as research and development (Litbang) media companies, have held votes for each pair of candidates through various sampling methods, with certain margin errors.

The dignity of the organization can also be raised when the results of the quick count and analysis are proven during the official announcement of the KPU. This means that the institution becomes credible and independent, because it is considered not to have received an order survey or conducted a fake survey.

Quick count itself can estimate the election vote acquisition quickly so that it can verify the official KPU results. Furthermore, fast count is able to detect and report irregularities, or uncover fraud.

However, to get these results, there are many stages that must be passed before getting a quick count result that has minimal errors. First, randomly determine the TPS sample. The larger the sample taken, the higher the accuracy level.

Second, looking for volunteers who will be tasked with monitoring polling stations to recapitulating votes, then sending them to the data center. This is the largest component in the implementation of a quick count, namely payment of volunteer honorariums. Third, quick count simulations. This method is also carried out as a trial using a fast counting machine that has been prepared, whether it works well or not.

Fourth, sending voice recapitulation to the data center. After the data is entered, then tabulated in the data center. Finally, process the data and display the final results, using sophisticated software.

Survey Results And Campaign Propaganda Tools

Political communication is increasingly being carried out by political figures when the democratic party which is celebrated every five years begins. This process began in the 2004 Presidential Election (Pilpres) which was then followed by direct regional head elections.

According to Mc Nair in his book Introduction To Political Communication, political communication has various forms, either carried out by these political figures themselves, or mandated to non-political political actors, for example, columnists. The form? News in print and electronic media or editorial in newspapers, so that a separate image is formed for these figures that can influence public sympathy.

The response to the political communication stimulus could be in the form of public interest in choosing these 'controllers' candidates. The public interest is a new land to conduct surveys both before the election and after the election. So that survey institutions that conduct political surveys emerged. Unfortunately, the idealism of researchers who should work for the benefit of the people tends to work according to who paid for it. Well, today's survey tends to be used as a propaganda tool in the political year.

Former Executive Director of the Indonesia Network Elections Survey (INES), Irwan Suhanto, said that some survey institutions currently tend to play on two feet. Survey institutions tend to issue different survey results to political parties and the public. He explained, there are surveys made for internal, there are also propaganda. "In the current ultra liberal era, surveys are no longer a tool to measure political power, but only become power propaganda. Pumping popularity and electability. Depending on which political power wants to emerge," said Irwan.

He considered that there are several survey institutions that he believes are credible and independent, but many survey institutions are playing on two feet. "I don't want to go into the issue of methodology. In a liberal democracy like now, a survey containing propaganda is a necessity, but don't go too far. I don't say that all survey institutions, the problem is that the survey results have an impact on people's mindsets," he explained.

According to politician from the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Fadli Zon, currently there is a survey agency that is also a political consulting institution. There should not be a survey agency that concurrently serves as a political consulting institution.

Fadli emphasized that if there are survey institutions that also act as political consulting institutions, there will be conflicts of interest. Such survey institutions will use surveys as propaganda tools, campaign tools from those who pay for the survey institutions as political consultants.

He claims that currently many survey institutions in Indonesia are concurrently political consultants. This kind of survey institute is not an independent survey agency and has never declared itself an independent institution.

According to Fadli, the survey agency that is concurrently a political consultant is not doing the job of drawing a real public picture, but rather on what is expected by those who pay for it.

"And survey institutions like this clearly endanger democracy," he said.