Vindry Florentin, Jakarta – According to the CEO of Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) Djayadi Hanan, Anies Baswedan is one of the potential candidates against the incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in the 2019 Presidential Election. However, the chances for Anies depend on many things.
Anies is said to have bigger chances so long the opposition coalition of Jokowi remains solid. Should the opposition support more than one candidate, it will be difficult to win over Jokowi's party.
Djayadi said Anies needs support from great figures to form a solid coalition against the incumbent. "If Anies willing to run as a presidential candidate, he should get an endorsement from great figures – other than Jokowi – who is now Prabowo," said Djayadi at his office, Jakarta, Thursday, July 5.
According to Djayadi, the former rector of Paramadina University will likely have more chances to challenge Jokowi if Prabowo takes a step down and support him. "The voice for Prabowo can be diverted to Anies," he said.
However, aside from that, Anies must have higher electability rate than Jokowi's to win the election. Based on the SMRC survey, the public has positive perceptions towards the government's performance thus far.
Djayadi called on the opposition party of Jokowi to wisely decide its presidential and vice presidential candidate. The party coalition against Jokowi becomes a vital key. "If the non-incumbent wants victory, it should support only one candidate," he added.
The registration of presidential and vice presidential candidate for the 2019 election starts on August 4-10, 2018. Jokowi is backed by PDIP, Golkar Party, NasDem Party, PPP, and Hanura as well as two new parties Perindo and PSI.
On the other hand, the opposition party is not solid yet. Gerindra and PKS stated to form a coalition with a condition that the vice presidential ticket will belong to PKS cadre. Meanwhile, Democratic party suggested a third coalition which considered by PAN chairman Zulkifli Hasan as hard to create.