Jakarta – Pollsters differ on how the gubernatorial vote in Jakarta will split on Wednesday (19/04), some are in favor of the incumbents, Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, while some suggest that Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno will secure the win.

After last week's televised gubernatorial debate, however, Ahok-Djarot's electability has been on the increase, according to political observer Ray Rangkuti of Lingkar Madani civil society watchdog.

"By the end [of the debate] Ahok-Djarot's performance improved and the pair's electability increased, reaching that of Anies-Sandiaga," Ray said on Monday.

According to him, Anies and Sandiaga have been too busy catering to right-wing religious groups that only recently they became aware of the importance of reaching to more nationalist voters.

"Their electability remains constant at 47 percent, while the incumbents, after an earlier drop, have already reached 46 percent, which continues to grow due to satisfaction with their performance," Ray said.

The candidates have the same chance of winning the poll, so everything will depend on the undecided voters.

"Jakarta residents, especially the well-educated ones, have not been influenced by the sensitive religious and racial issues. They are rational, that's why Anies's and Sandiaga's electability is not increasing," Roy said.

Ahok, on the other hand, has been gaining more popularity among members of Muslim groups such as the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and its youth wing Ansor.

Source: http://jakartaglobe.id/news/debate-ahoks-electability-increases-observer/