PKB's Voter Turnout In Elections Phenomenal

Jakarta, April 10 (Antara) - The voter turnout of the National Awakening Party (PKB) in Wednesday`s legislative elections was phenomenal and surprising as it almost equaled that of the ruling Democratic Party (PD), an observer said. "PKB had built effective political communication by involving key figures," communication expert of the University of Paramadina Hendri Satrio said here on Thursday. The PKB had successfully utilized influential figures as its vote getters, such as Rhoma Irama, Mahfud MD and Ahmad Dani. This made PKB appear different from other parties. The people`s convention of the PKB also contributed to its image, he said. "If the Islamic parties established a joint team, PKB will most likely lead it. Possibly, the PKB`s strategy was one of the constraints that hampered the spread of the `Jokowi` effect," he argued. Hendri said PKB`s achievement in the 2014 legislative election was extraordinary, and that it had caused the image of other Islamic parties to shine again. In various quick counts, the PKB had been placed in the fifth position in Wednesday`s legislative election winning 8.9 percent of the votes, while in the 2009 elections, the PKB had only won 4.9 percent and ranked seventh. Previously before the election on Wednesday, self-styled dangdut king Rhoma Irama, one of the figures tipped to be PKB`s presidential candidate, expressed his optimism that the party will win the legislative election in East Java, which was known as its stronghold. "We were optimistic that the PKB will win in this province. One of the indicators of the victory was the enthusiasm of the PKB cadres and sympathizers in every campaign," he said when visiting the Secretary General of the PKB Executive Board, Imam Nahrawi, at his residence in Kedung Cangkring village in East Java`s Sidoarjo district on Saturday. Rhoma, who was often present at the party`s campaigns in different locations in East Java, said the campaign events had consistently attracted thousands of people. "They looked enthusiastic in their struggle, socialized with other people and dreamt of the PKB winning the election," he said. More importantly, ulemas and figures of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia`s largest Islamic organization, had returned to the PKB and committed themselves to help the party win the election, he added. Therefore, he said he remained optimistic about running for the presidency. PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar had previously predicted the party will gain at least 30 percent of the votes cast in East Java, which will contribute significantly to the party`s vote tally nationwide.