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Survey says SBY to win election in a single round
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is likely to win the July 8 presidential election in a single round victory, with 70 percent of votes, a survey by Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) revealed Thursday
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President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is likely to win the July 8 presidential election in a single round victory, with 70 percent of votes, a survey by Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) revealed Thursday.
But another survey by the Policy and Development Strategy Research Center (Puskaptis) showed the election might extend to a second round.
LSI Research Director Kuskrido Ambardi said the survey showed Yudhoyono would likely win 70 percent of votes.
He added presidential candidates' running mates had "no significant impact on the voters' preference".
"SBY’s popularity among voters has steadily risen in the last couple of months, no matter who his running mate is,” he said.
SBY has teamed up with former Bank Indonesia Governor Boediono for the presidential race.
LSI senior researcher Burhanuddin Muhtadi confirmed, however, that the survey was funded by Fox Indonesia, a political consultancy firm hired by SBY's Democratic Party.
“I can guarantee that Fox has nothing to do with the result. LSI never tries to please its clients. Besides, we also serve other political parties,” he said.
Burhanuddin was responding Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) executive Maruarar Sirait, who questioned the source of the survey's funding.
“I had asked Burhanuddin yesterday where the funding for the survey came from. You answered it was funded by Fox Indonesia,” he said.
Yudhoyono's camp is competing against the Golkar Party’s Jusuf Kalla and Wiranto of the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), as well as Megawati Soekarnoputri of the PDI-P and Prabowo Subianto of the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra).
The Megawati-Prabowo camp, known as Mega-Pro, argued SBY-Boediono supported neoliberalist economic policies that prioritized the welfare of the rich rather than the poor.
The Mega-Pro team, however, has yet to clarify its ekonomi kerakyatan (people's economy) vision.
Jusuf Kalla and his running mate Wiranto, meanwhile, have gained more popularity as a result of their wives wearing jilbab (headscarves). The issue has attracted Muslim grassroot voters, showing their support for candidates projecting a "religious" image.
The LSI survey, however, shows that neither religious attire nor unclear economic jargon are a factor in determining how people vote.
“Voters place a higher priority on integrity, empathy and competence. They see only SBY and Boediono fit such criteria,” Kuskrido said.
The Puskaptis survey showed a different result.
“Our survey shows there is a strong possibility the election will end in two rounds. The margin of difference between the most popular and the most unpopular candidates is only between 7 and 8 percent,” Puskaptis Executive Director, Husni Yazid, told The Jakarta Post.
The presidential election rules stipulate a candidate must be able to garner at least 50 percent of votes to win in the first round. If no candidates reach the threshold, the election will enter the second round. (hdt)
