Jakarta – Gerindra Party chairman Prabowo Subianto has expressed his doubts on results released recently by several pollsters on the Jakarta gubernatorial campaign, saying the pollsters were not impartial.
"It is not surprising to find that released data might vary. The results depend on the one that commissioned the polls," Prabowo said as quoted by Antara news agency in Bogor, West Java, on Sunday. According to Prabowo, the pollsters' results could potentially mislead the public.
"I lost my respect [for pollsters] as their bright minds have been misused to deceive people. They should be open and ensure their polls were truthful," he asserted.
Pollster Populi Center has released the results of its latest survey, stating that Jakarta gubernatorial candidate Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama beat fellow hopeful Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono in terms of popularity after the first official debate.
Other pollsters, such as the Indonesian Survey Circle and Poltracking, earlier consistently ranked Agus, Ahok and Anies Baswedan in the first, second and third positions, respectively, in their surveys. (dmr)