Some 42.1 per cent of respondents say they will choose Jakarta governor candidate Pramono Anung, according to an Indikator Politik Indonesia survey published on Nov 22. - PHOTO: WAHYUDI SOERIAATMADJA
JAKARTA (Bloomberg): A candidate backed by Indonesia’s opposition has taken the lead in the pivotal race for Jakarta governor less than a week before the regional elections, according to the latest survey.
Some 42.1% of respondents said they would choose Pramono Anung, a senior politician backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to lead the country’s capital city, according to the Indikator Politik Indonesia survey published on Friday.
Ridwan Kamil, the candidate allied with President Prabowo Subianto and his predecessor Joko Widodo, was a close second with 40.5%, while an independent candidate was a distant third with 4.8%.
The survey polled 1,229 respondents by telephone across the capital between Nov. 15-21, with a margin error of 2.9% at 95% level of confidence.
It would be difficult to predict a clear winner for the Jakarta gubernatorial race as about 25% identified as swing voters, reducing the chances of a decisive one-round victory, said Burhanuddin Muhtadi, executive director of pollster Indikator. "There should be a 5% difference,” he said.
Under Indonesian election rules, if no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote during the Nov. 27 polls, a run-off election will be held later on.
A defeat for Kamil would effectively be an upset. He is a former governor of Indonesia’s most populous province West Java and a well-known social media personality. He is also endorsed by Prabowo and Jokowi - who both still enjoy high popularity ratings - and the 13 political parties comprising the ruling coalition.
However, Anung’s momentum has strengthened in the run-up to the elections, thanks to supporters of Anies Baswedan, a former Jakarta governor and prominent critic of Jokowi, according to the survey findings. This support is widely seen to have galvanized segments of Jakarta’s electorate who are critical of the ruling coalition.
That will likely serve as a wake-up call for the ruling coalition in the final stretch of the regional elections, said Maruarar Sirait of Gerindra, Prabowo’s party.
"With Anies supporting Pramono, it’s like awakening a sleeping tiger. It’s called Jokowi and Prabowo. They will consolidate quickly,” he said.
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