Andreas D. Arditya, Jakarta – The majority of Jakarta's citizens say they prefer to cast their votes for independent candidates in the upcoming gubernatorial elections, according to a survey.
Forty-six percent of respondents said they preferred independent candidates over politically backed candidates in an opinion poll result released on Thursday by the Soegeng Sarjadi School of Government (SSSG).
Only 17 percent said they preferred candidates endorsed by political parties, while 32 percent of them said they found no difference between casting votes for either independent or politically backed candidates.
The survey also showed that 69 percent of respondents said they would go to polling booths to cast their votes, with 11 percent of them refusing to do so.
The SSSG conducted the survey from March 5 to 17 in a random sample of 1,180 respondents. The pollsters held telephone interviews with respondents in the survey. The margin of error in the survey is 2.9 percent.
Two independent pairs have registered at the Jakarta office of the General Elections Commission: Economist Faisal Basri and entrepreneur Biem Benjamin; and retired general Hendardji Soepandji and politician Ahmad Riza Patria.
The politically backed aspirants are incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and running mate Nachrowi Ramli; Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) patron Hidayat Nurwahid and economist Didik J. Rachbini; incumbent Surakarta Mayor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and the former regent of East Belitung in Bangka-Belitung Islands, Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama; and South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin and retired general Nono Sampono.
Fauzi-Nachrowi are endorsed by the Democratic Party, the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB). The Hidayat-Didik campaign is supported by the PKS, while the Jokowi-Ahok campaign is supported by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra). The Alex-Nono ticket is endorsed by the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP).
Separately, Fadjroel Rachman, a political activist from the Research Institute for Democracy and a Prosperous State (Pedoman), said that independent bids for the gubernatorial election had galvanized the political parties.
"No less than the chairpersons of every major political party pulled strings in deciding who their respective parties would endorse in the election," Fadjroel said. "The PKS had to bring its chief patron to the table, while other parties even resorted to outsiders like Alex and Jokowi."
Burhanuddin Muhtadi, a political analyst from the Indonesian Survey Institute's (LSI), said that the survey result showed that there was a good chance for independent candidates in the contest.
"They must take advantage of this potential. The most important thing the independent candidates have to do is to make themselves known to the voters," Burhanuddin said.
A survey held by the LSI last month placed incumbent Fauzi as the most popular candidate.