Yustinus Paat, Jakarta – Ridwan Kamil is on track to win the Jakarta gubernatorial election, with support reaching 51.8 percent, according to a new poll by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) released on Wednesday.
Backed by a coalition of both small and major political parties, Ridwan is leading his closest competitor, Pramono Anung, by a substantial margin of 23.4 points.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Dharma Pongrekun was favored by only 3.2 percent of respondents.
"Approximately 3.9 percent of respondents indicated they would not vote for any candidate, while the remaining 12.8 percent are still undecided," LSI Executive Director Djayadi Hanan said in Jakarta.
The survey was released about a week before the start of the official campaign period.
Djayadi noted that the majority of Ridwan's supporters – 63 percent – said their choice was firm and they would not change their mind.
While Ridwan served as Governor of West Java for five years, Pramono has spent the last decade working as the Cabinet Secretary for President Joko Widodo.
Interestingly, Pramono's running mate, former Banten Governor Rano Karno, is more popular than Pramono himself, with 16 percent support compared to Pramono's 10.5 percent when respondents were asked about their choice without a list of candidates, according to the survey.
"Pramono Anung's electability stood at only 20 percent, but when Rano Karno was cited as his running mate, their combined electability rose to 28 percent. This shows that the choice of a running mate can significantly influence voters," Djayadi said.
In contrast, Ridwan's running mate, former Agriculture Minister Suswono, appears to have less voter appeal. Ridwan garnered 53 percent support on his own, but when surveyed alongside Suswono, the figure dipped to 51.8 percent.
The survey, conducted between September 6 and 12, included 1,200 eligible voters in Jakarta, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/lsi-survey-shows-ridwan-kamils-strong-lead-in-jakarta-governorship-rac