Opposition-backed candidate Pramono Anung takes lead in Jakarta governor race

JAKARTA – A candidate backed by Indonesia’s opposition has taken the lead in the pivotal race for Jakarta governor less than a week before the regional elections, according to the latest survey.

Some 42.1 per cent of respondents said they would choose Mr Pramono Anung, a senior politician backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to lead the country’s capital city, according to the Indikator Politik Indonesia survey published on Nov 22.

Mr Ridwan Kamil, the candidate allied with President Prabowo Subianto and his predecessor Joko Widodo (more popularly known as Jokowi), was a close second with 40.5 per cent, while an independent candidate was a distant third with 4.8 per cent.

The survey polled 1,229 respondents by telephone across the capital between Nov 15 to Nov 21, with a margin error of 2.9 per cent at 95 per cent level of confidence.

It would be difficult to predict a clear winner for the Jakarta gubernatorial race as about 25 per cent identified as swing voters, reducing the chances of a decisive one-round victory, said Mr Burhanuddin Muhtadi, executive director of pollster Indikator. “There should be a 5 per cent difference,” he said.

Under Indonesian election rules, if no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the vote during the Nov 27 polls, a run-off election will be held later on.

A defeat for Mr Kamil would effectively be an upset.

He is a former governor of Indonesia’s most populous province West Java, and a well-known social media personality.

He is also endorsed by Mr Prabowo and Mr Widodo – who both still enjoy high popularity ratings – and the 13 political parties comprising the ruling coalition.

However, Mr Anung’s momentum has strengthened in the run-up to the elections, thanks to supporters of Mr Anies Baswedan, a former Jakarta governor and prominent critic of Mr Widodo, according to the survey findings.

This support is widely seen to have galvanised segments of Jakarta’s electorate who are critical of the ruling coalition.

That will likely serve as a wake-up call for the ruling coalition in the final stretch of the regional elections, said Mr Maruarar Sirait of Gerindra, Mr Prabowo’s party.

“With Anies supporting Pramono, it’s like awakening a sleeping tiger. It’s called Jokowi and Prabowo. They will consolidate quickly,” he said. BLOOMBERG