Jakarta – Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) chief Prabowo Subianto and Golkar politician Jusuf Kalla topped a list of 12 hypothetical tickets for the 2014 presidential election, a survey says.

A Prabowo-Kalla ticket was chosen by 14.6 percent of respondents to a Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate (SSS) released on Wednesday.

Close behind was the hypothetical ticket of former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and Kalla, himself a former vice president.

Another popular ticket was Prabowo and Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD, which was backed by 12.4 percent of respondents, the survey said.

Prabowo, a retired three-star general and former commander of the Indonesian Military's Special Forces (Kopassus), was the most popular potential candidate for president in 2014, backed by 25.8 percent of respondents.

"Most respondents said that a firm leader is what the country needs, which was the reason they gave for backing Prabowo," survey coordinator Muhammad Dahlan said.

Others favorite candidates for president were Megawati, backed by 22.4 percent of respondents; Kalla, at 14.9 percent; and Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie.

Kalla and Constitutional Court chief justice Mohammad Mahfud MD were the most popular potential vice presidential candidates, backed by 18.7 percent and 16 percent of respondents, respectively.

Other names touted for the nation's No. 2 spot were State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who was backed by 13.8 percent of respondents, Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa (11.3 percent) and Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono XI (11 percent).

The survey was conducted between May 14 and 24 in 33 provinces and involved 2,192 respondents. (aml)