Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo would emerge an easy winner if Indonesia's presidential election were held today, a political analyst said on Sunday.
"Jokowi would clinch an absolute victory with over 60 percent of the votes, no matter who his opponents were," said Jeffrie Geovanie, a member of the board of advisors for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He said Joko would remain a strong contender for next year's presidential election if the Democratic Party convention, slated to select a presidential candidate within the next year, failed to meet the people's expectations.
But Jeffrie said Joko would face a tough challenge if he ran against younger candidates such as Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, former Supreme Court chief justice Mahfud M.D., House speaker Marzuki Alie, Regional Representatives Council Chairman Irman Guzman, Indonesia's Ambassador to the United States Dino Patti Djalal, or businessman Chairul Tanjung.
"The Democratic Party's convention for [selecting a] presidential candidate will become an interesting event where figures from the younger generation can freely introduce and promote themselves elegantly," Jeffrie said.
If the convention's choice of candidate failed to meet the public's expectation, Joko could likely head towards the country's top position with no significant problem, the CSIS board member said. "So in 2014, the only question would be, who will become Indonesia's next vice president."
Jeffrie added that the electorate wanted a colorful presidential election next year and expected the Democratic Party to endorse a younger candidate.
"We already know that other parties have picked their presidential candidates and it has already been proven that the general public has a low level of acceptance toward them," Jeffrie said.
Endang Tirtana, a researcher with think tank Maarif Institute, said democracy meant power over decisions should lie not with the president or legislature, but with voters.
"But in our democratic system, something like this remains a utopia, something that is merely used as a decoration in academic writings," he said.
"Voters should not only cast their votes based on the perception candidates create about themselves, but have to get to know the figures they vote for, so they can avoid choosing the wrong people who are not be able to meet their expectations of change."
Rachmawati Sukarnoputri, the sister of former president Megawati Sukarnoputri – who endorsed Joko to run in the Jakarta gubernatorial race – said Joko is not yet qualified to be the country's next president even though his popularity far exceeds other potential presidential candidates, such as Megawati and Prabowo Subianto.
Hundreds of mourners greeted Joko at the funeral of Taufiq Kiemas, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly, on Sunday. Taufiq was Megawati's husband.
Although many political leaders attended the funeral, Joko attracted interest from many ordinary citizens who wanted to shake hands and have their photographs taken with him.
"It's not easy to lead a country. It cannot be compared to leading Jakarta, because the complexity of running a country is much more," Rachmawati said during an event last week to commemorate her father.
Joko has previously said he did not wish to cut short his five-year term as governor of Jakarta, which started last October and runs through to 2017.