Irsyan Hasyim, Jakarta – A national political development researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Aisyah Putri Budiarti, pointed out potential voter migration ahead of the presidential election day on April 17, 2019.

Aisyah opined that both candidate pairs, Jokowi-Ma'ruf and Prabowo-Sandiaga, did not offer contrast programs. As a result, they faced difficulties to lure swing voters who have yet decided their support for the election.

According to her, issues discussed in past election debates occurred in the society, yet the discussion was merely on the surface. "There was no detailed explanation," Aisyah said on Tuesday, March 26.

Therefore, campaign teams of the two candidates must establish massive campaign activities, design detailed campaign programs, and approach broader network to win the race.

In addition, the teams must also make sure eligible voters willing to attend the voting stations. Aisyah reiterated the 2009 and 2004 presidential election saw a high number of abstainer or golput amounted to 26 percent in 2014.

"This quite contrast to the number of undecided voters at 10-15 percent or lower as based on many pollsters' survey." At that time, half of the voters did not cast a ballot, while surveys showed they chose one of the candidates.

The gap, she said, was too risky. "10 percent is really significant to gain victory," Aisyah remarked.

She recalled the US presidential election when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took part. Hillary lost her chance because of her loyal supporters did not come to voting stations. "Hillary's campaign team made a mistake that they were overly confident in winning the election."

Many surveys released by pollsters revealed that the majority of respondents denied golput, and the rate is significant with a high percentage. "If one of the candidate pairs can attract abstainers, the number of voter immigration will be high."

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1189245/lipi-points-out-potential-voter-migration-in-2019-election