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PDI-P coalition works to stem electability slide
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)-led coalition has effectively two weeks to ramp up measures to counter religious- and ethnicity-based smear campaigns aimed at its presidential candidate Joko âJokowiâ Widodo
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The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)-led coalition has effectively two weeks to ramp up measures to counter religious- and ethnicity-based smear campaigns aimed at its presidential candidate Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.
Many analysts have said that the smear campaigns had chipped away support for the non-active Jakarta governor.
Several pollsters recently published findings that showed Jokowi still remained ahead of the Gerindra Party's Prabowo Subianto, however, the gap had narrowed to between 6 and 7 percent.
The pollsters had tracked the electability rating of Prabowo over the past few months.
A recent study by the Kompas daily's research and development recorded that, should the election take place earlier this month, there would be a 7 percent gap between Jokowi and Prabowo, the former leading with 42.3 percent of votes and Prabowo trailing with 35.3 percent.
The study, conducted between June 1 and 15, also found that undecided voters accounted for 22.4 percent of the total electorate, far greater than the 7 percent gap.
The Kompas study confirmed earlier findings from the Jakarta-based Pol-Tracking Institute, which showed that Jokowi and his running mate Jusuf Kalla would lead by a margin of 7.4 percent to garner 48.5 percent of the vote.
The Indo Barometer's recent survey found that the Jokowi-Kalla ticket would have a handsome margin of 13.4 percent ahead of the Prabowo-Hatta ticket.
Analyst Ikrar Nusa Bakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said that smear campaigns putting Jokowi's faith into question had been key to chipping away support.
'I think smear campaigns questioning Jokowi's faith have been a crucial factor behind the slide in his popularity. Issues on ethnicity and religion are sensitive and an effective way to scare supporters,' Ikrar said on Sunday.
He said that Prabowo had obviously benefitted from the smear campaigns.
'Prabowo has obviously gained an advantage from this so-called psychological warfare using ethnicity and religion cards,' Ikrar said.
Ikrar cited smear campaigns, for example the Obor Rakyat tabloid ' which according to him had successfully provoked Muslim communities, which accounts for 90.4 percent of Indonesia's total 185 million eligible voters ' had made voters reconsider their support for Jokowi.
Despite the climb in Prabowo's popularity, Eva Kusuma Sundari, a spokesperson from Jokowi's campaign, said that her camp remained upbeat over Jokowi's chances in July 9 election.
Eva said that party machinery and presidential debates could be used as effective tools in the next two weeks to win back support from voters.
'We noticed that the previous televised debates had brought in more support because, for example, musicians that had earlier expressed support for Pak Prabowo changed their minds after witnessing Pak Jokowi's performance during the debates,' Eva said.
Eva, a lawmaker from the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing law and human rights, said that the PDI-P and members of its coalition would also step up and better manage their network of volunteers.
'We will work hard over the final two weeks to take all the necessary measures. We have a very dedicated nationwide network of volunteers, thus, better management is key,' she said.
In the attempt to counter the smear campaign by Obor Rakyat, volunteers from Jokowi's camp recently distributed a publication called Jokowi Adalah Kita (Jokowi is us) particularly in Java, which aimed to clarify suspicions that Jokowi was Chinese-Indonesian and a Christian.
