TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Megawati, Hidayat best chance for election: Survey

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri has a strong chance of winning the top position in next year's elections if she picks Hidayat Nur Wahid of the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as her running mate, a survey says

Adianto P. Simamora (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Wed, December 10, 2008

Share This Article

Change Size

Megawati, Hidayat best chance for election: Survey

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri has a strong chance of winning the top position in next year's elections if she picks Hidayat Nur Wahid of the Muslim-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) as her running mate, a survey says.

The poll, conducted by the Strategic Center for Development and Policy Review (Puskaptis), found the pairing of Megawati and Hidayat earned support from 40 percent of the respondents.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is the most popular presidential candidate, according to the survey, but faces difficulties in finding a suitable running mate with which to form a strong partnership.

The survey revealed that while a partnership with Yogyakarta sultan Hamengkubuwono X garnered Yudhoyono the most support, it still ranked him behind the combination of Megawati and Hidayat by almost 10 percent. The Yudhoyono-Hidayat team proved the least successful match-up, only securing around 11 percent of respondents' support.

"If Yudhoyono does not change his 2004 winning partnership with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the pair will only receive 20 percent of the votes," Puskaptis executive director Husin Yazid said Tuesday.

Megawati chairs the nationalist-based Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), while Hamengkubuwono X is an advisor to the Golkar Party, which Kalla leads.

The survey, conducted between Nov. 24 and Dec. 26, involved almost 1,500 respondents with a margin of error between 3 to 5 percent.

Husin said public support for Yudhoyono and Kalla was declining due to the government's poor performance tackling the global economic crisis.

"About 38 percent of people surveyed believe Yudhoyono cannot settle the economic problems facing the country in the final year of his term," Husin said.

The popularity of Megawati and Hidayat suggested respondents are leaning toward new leadership, Husin added.

The survey found 64 percent of respondents desired a leadership duo who could save the country's economy, create new jobs and improve people's welfare.

"Around 85 percent of respondents want changes and reform in government policies, particularly those aimed at improving economic conditions," Husin said.

The survey found Kalla's popularity continues to fall, dropping to third most popular vice presidential candidate behind Hamengkubuwono and Hidayat.

In its previous May survey, Puskaptis found Yudhoyono and Kalla would maintain their positions if the presidential election was held that day.

The country will host presidential elections in July, 2009.

Indonesian Science Institute (LIPI) researcher Alfan Alfian said the Puskaptis survey was suggesting an almost unthinkable coalition of the PDI-P and the PKS in the presidential election.

"It is interesting because the two parties promote different ideologies," he said.

Politicians from the PDI-P Ganjar Pranowo supported the survey results, saying it would provide them with new evidence when selecting a running mate for Megawati later this month.

"We will study the survey, including its methodology and respondents," he said.

"We will open our minds to public aspirations, including opinion surveys. We want to know the public's response if Megawati pairs with Hidayat, Akbar Tanjung, Sultan or Kalla."

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.