Political Indicator Survey: Public Prefers Civilian President

Indonesia has had seven presidents since its declaration of independence in 1945. These seven presidents came from diverse backgrounds. Two presidents had military backgrounds, while five came from civilian backgrounds.

Results from the Indonesian Political Indicator survey show that public opinion on whether the president should have a military or civilian background is split almost evenly. Although a slightly higher percentage of the public, 45.7%, believe the president should have a civilian background.

Meanwhile, 42.3% of respondents believe the president should have a military or army background. The difference between these two opinions is only 3.4 percentage points.

The survey was conducted from December 6 to 11, 2021, across 34 Indonesian provinces. The survey population comprised all Indonesian citizens with voting rights in general elections, involving 1,220 respondents. An additional 800 respondents were included from East Java.

The method used was simple random sampling. The margin of error for this survey is approximately 2.9% at a 95% confidence level.