Jakarta (Bloomberg) – Mr Joko Widodo's main rival in the last two elections is now leading in popularity, even as the Indonesian president remains top of mind.
Given the choice between the three most popular names for presidency, 32.7 per cent would choose Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, followed closely by Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo with 30.8 pre cent and Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan with 24.9 per cent according to a survey by Indikator on Feb 11-21.
Mr Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, remains top of mind, with 15.9 per cent of respondents naming him when asked an open question of who they would vote for. That's followed by Mr Subianto with 12.3 per cent and Mr Pranowo with 10.5 per cent.
Indonesians are only set to head to the polls in February 2024, but elections have already become a key political issue amid speculation around whether Mr Widodo would seek to serve a third term as well as early campaigning by various candidates.
The president has said he would obey the Constitution, which currently sets a limit of two terms.
Mr Subianto, chairman of the third-biggest party in Parliament, lost to Mr Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Indonesians want their next leader to focus on creating jobs, managing food inflation, handling Covid-19, corruption eradication and improving the quality of education.
Indikator's survey involved 1,200 respondents across the country, with a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.