Carlos Paath, Jakarta – Democratic Party officials have played down poll results that indicate none of the 11 men vying for the party's presidential nomination would stand a chance in the July election against Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, a member of the main opposition party.
Ramadhan Pohan, a deputy secretary general of the ruling party, said on Monday that Gita Wirjawan, who resigned as trade minister last Friday to focus on his presidential bid with the Democrats, had more experience and a better track record than Joko.
"His experience at the national level is complete, from being the head of the investment coordinating board, to the trade minister, to the chairman of the badminton association," Ramadhan said.
"He even has international experience. He would sink Joko. He's also younger, to boot." He said that Gita's decision to resign from the cabinet would only boost his focus and his popularity.
"This is an important moment. His electability and his popularity will take off. People will see Gita as someone who is not power-hungry, not egotistical," Ramadhan said.
"The next couple of months will see a lot of politicial turbulence in terms of presidential candidates. It started with Gita, and it's now up to Dahlan and the others to take note," he added, referring to Dahlan Iskan, the minister for state-owned enterprises, who is also taking part in the Democrats' presidential convention.
Ruhut Sitompul, a Democrat legislator, said separately that he was convinced the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the country's main opposition bloc, would nominate its chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, over Joko.
He said Megawati, who lost to the Democrats' Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in both the 2004 and 2009 elections, would be a "more realistic" choice than the largely untested Joko, who has not held an executive position at the national level.
"Joko should just stick to taking care of the floods," Ruhut said, referring to the floods that have plagued parts of Jakarta since mid-January. The PDI-P, which surveys say has a sure bet in Joko, has in recent weeks indicated that it may once again put Megawati on the ticket.
Pollsters have questioned the wisdom of such a move, given the chairwoman's polarizing nature and the fact that Joko consistently polls better than her or any other potential presidential candidate.
In the latest poll, conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) from Jan.6-16, some 35 percent of the 1,200 respondents polled said they would vote for Joko if the election were held today.
Megawati was a distant second with 22 percent, followed by Prabowo Subianto, the founder and chief patron of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), with 20 percent.
Adjie Alfaraby, an LSI researcher, said at the announcement of the results on Sunday that the numbers confirmed what other polls had noted before about Joko being the man to beat in the July 9 election.
The PDI-P, though, has made clear it will not announce its candidate until after the results from the April 9 legislative election are in.
Parties must win 25 percent of the legislative vote or 20 percent of seats at the House of Representatives to be eligible to nominate a presidential candidate.
The LSI poll showed that the PDI-P and the Golkar Party would come out on top in the legislative election, with 18 percent of votes each, in line with projections by earlier surveys.
That could theoretically give them the required 20 percent of House seats, once votes to parties that miss the 3.5 percent threshold needed for a House seat are farmed out, allowing them to nominate their respective candidates without having to take on a coalition partner.
The Democrats, however, are expected to fare far worse, with the LSI poll giving the ruling party less than 5 percent of the vote. Adjie said that none of the 11 Democrats vying for the party's nomination would get more than 5 percent in the presidential election, even if the party managed to get enough votes to qualify.