Muninggar Sri Saraswati – If the July presidential election were held today, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would garner a whopping 87.5 percent of the votes, according to a poll by the Strategic Center for Development and Policy Review, or Puskaptis.

Trailing Yudhoyono by a long distance was former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, with only 5.83 percent. Prabowo Subianto, the controversial former general and head of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, followed with 5 percent. Vice President Jusuf Kalla received the backing of only 1.67 percent of the respondents.

Kalla nonetheless remains Yudhoyono's most viable running mate, according to the polling organization, which closely predicted the victory by the president's Democratic Party in legislative elections held on April 9.

According to the poll, which was conducted last week, 28.72 percent of respondents said they expected Kalla, who chairs the Golkar Party, to continue his vice presidential role. Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and Hidayat Nurwahid, the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, or MPR, were tied as runners-up in the vice presidential sweepstakes with 23.4 percent. Prabowo came in fourth with 10.64 percent, followed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati with the approval of 5.32 percent of the respondents.

Whether or not they expect Kalla to continue as vice president, 26.8 percent of respondents said they approve of him, with 25.77 percent choosing Hidayat, while the Sultan ranked third with 20.62 percent.

With the eventual pairings for the July race still up in the air, political sources have speculated this week that Megawati might drop her presidential bid, leaving the PDI-P to propose running the Sultan as its presidential candidate.

PDI-P secretary general Pramono Anung refused to confirm the rumors, saying the party was waiting to see who Yudhoyono would pick as a running mate. Bondan Nusantara, of the sultan's campaign team, said only that the royal, who is a member of Golkar, might align himself with PDI-P, without specifying if he was eyeing either the presidential or vice presidential post.

Puskaptis director Husin Yazid said the Yudhoyono-Kalla team was viewed positively by the public, the majority of whom believe the pair should continue to lead the country for the next five years. State news agency Antara quoted Husin as saying that "46.77 percent of respondents expect the continuation of the government's development program, while those who seek changes reached 43.55 percent."

According to the poll, economic problems top concerns, with 50.83 percent of respondents listing them as the government's biggest problem. Corruption eradication, with 21.67 percent, and security issues, 7.50 percent, were second and third.

A number of other opinion polls are also predicting that Yudhoyono will sweep the presidential election in July in a single round.

The poll was conducted from April 13 to 17 in 33 provinces, although the number of respondents was not provided. The sampling error was given at plus or minus 3 percent.