Women, Do We Support One Another? Voting Behavior of Indonesian Female College Students for a Female Candidate amidst Covid-19

Abstract

This study seeks to analyze and describe the voting behavior of female college students for a female candidate at Banjarmasin Mayoral Election in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. This election is special because it was held during the pandemic where political campaigns were mostly switched to communication and information technology with a lack of mass gatherings and direct political campaigns due to Covid-19 health protocols. In a predominantly Muslim and highly patriarchal society, this is also the second time in this province to have a female candidate for this position and the first time for this city. Amidst the negative stereotypes of a female candidate and the attacks from the opponents, this female candidate managed to gain second place. Disputes emerged, and the court decided to held re-election in three sub-districts. The disputes and the campaign dynamics show how a female candidate is perceived by this society at large. This study elaborates the possible affecting variables in voting behavior, i.e., the role of religious interpretation, ethnicity, gender, the role of media, perceptions of voters related to candidate’s age and programs, political party affiliation, the role of family and peers. This research is based on online surveys of Lambung Mangkurat University students, Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Indonesia where the election was held. The selection for college student respondents is aimed to relatively control the variables of education, age, and socioeconomic factors of voters which are also often considered affecting variables in voting behavior.