A survey by the Jakarta-based think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has revealed that incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama has the highest popularity among Jakarta'€™s voters but Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini is the most likable among all other hopefuls on the CSIS list.

'€œAhok'€™s popularity is the highest with 94 percent, followed by Golkar politician cum entertainer Tantowi Yahya with 81 percent, Bandung Mayor Ridwan Kamil with 71.25 percent, City Council deputy speaker Abraham '€˜Lulung'€™ Lunggana with 69.25 percent, PKS politician Hidayat Nur Wahid with 64.5 percent and elected Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini with 63.75 percent,'€ CSIS researcher Arya Fernandes said.

The researcher said, however, that Risma received the highest likability level with 85.54 percent, followed by Ridwan at 85.02 percent, Ahok at 71.39, Tantowi at 66.25 and Hidayat with 62.55.

Popularity levels show the figures that are most known by the respondents, the likability level highlights those that are most liked by respondents, while electability statistics reflect the figures respondents believe are most suitable for the position.

The survey also shows that most Jakartans prefer independent candidates to those from political parties.

Arya told reporters on Monday that 54.75 percent of respondents recommended that Jakarta gubernatorial election hopefuls slated for 2017 should run independently. '€œOnly 38.5 percent of respondents prefer candidates to be endorsed by political parties while 6.75 percent did not answer or did not know,'€ he said.

The survey, held from Jan. 5 to 10, involved 400 random respondents, each with voting rights in one of the five municipalities in Jakarta, with a margin of error of around 4.9 percent and a trust level of 95 percent.

Arya said that those respondents who said that they would choose a particular political party, if the legislative election was held during the survey period, still preferred candidates to run independently.

Currently, only three figures have declared an intention to run for Jakarta'€™s top position. The candidates comprise current Jakarta Governor Ahok, urban planning expert Marco Kusumawijaya and Adhyaksa Dault. None of them are endorsed by a political party.

Arya said that among those names, Ahok was the most popular. Marco'€™s name is not even on the CSIS list.

The survey shows that, on an electability level, Ahok takes first place in the percentage stakes, followed by Ridwan, Risma, Adhyaksa Dault, Tantowi and Hidayat.

That Ahok was listed among the top five for popularity, likability and electability, among names related to the gubernatorial election, is an indication that Jakartans are satisfied with his performance, according to Arya. '€œSixty-seven percent of the respondents said that they were satisfied with Ahok'€™s performance and only 29 percent said they were not,'€ he said.

Ahok, through a volunteer group dubbed Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), has managed to collect at least 631,000 ID-backed signatures, enough names to secure an independent ticket as a governor hopeful for the 2017 election. The ID cards have been photocopied and each will need to be verified by the General Election Commission.

Ahok, however, said recently that he was also open to endorsement from the NasDem Party.

CSIS political researcher Philips J. Vermonte said that as Ahok had taken major steps for the election already, political parties would be better to announce their future candidates as soon as possible.

'€œMost respondents chose independent candidates because their trust in political parties is very low,'€ he said.

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