T

he Gerindra Party is taking seriously grim findings of a recent study but remains true to its opposition stance at a time when most major political parties have thrown their support behind the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

The survey by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which mainly focuses on how the public assess Jokowi’s performance, found falling approval ratings for Gerindra and its patron Prabowo Subianto two years after the presidential race.

The study results, announced on Tuesday, indicated a decrease of 3 percent per year in electoral votes as Gerindra would only secure 14.3 percent of the vote if an election were held in August, when the survey was conducted. The same CSIS survey last year put Gerindra in second place, after the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) with 17.3 percent. By contrast, the Golkar Party has gained support, with a new approval rating of 14.1 percent, up from 11.4 percent, due to “their support for Jokowi”, the survey found.

The survey found that one factor for Gerindra’s decreasing popularity was the grim electability of Prabowo, with only 24.3 percent of 1,000 respondents saying they would vote for Prabowo. That is down from 28 percent backing for Prabowo measured by CSIS in October last year.

Gerindra and Prabowo were tough competitors in the 2014 elections. In the legislative election, Gerindra came third after securing 11.81 percent of the vote and Golkar came in second place with 14.75 percent. In the presidential race, held three months after the legislative election, the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla ticket beat Prabowo, who had been paired with Hatta Rajasa, by a slim margin, with 53.1 percent versus 46.8 percent.

“We appreciate the CSIS for its study. It reminds us to be careful and most importantly to work harder to improve our electoral votes,” Gerindra deputy chairman Desmond J. Mahesa told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Desmond however questioned the motive of CSIS in conducting its study, especially when it found that a majority of 66.5 percent of the public were satisfied with the work of Jokowi’s administration.

“Because we witnessed some shortcomings here and there. Some of the government’s policies are controversial and questionable,” he said. “However, we understand the position of CSIS, as it has always backed the government. No matter what, we still appreciate its findings regarding Gerindra as well as Prabowo. We have to work even harder”.

Unlike Jokowi’s predecessor, Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who frequently criticized Jokowi’s policies though not actually positioning his party in opposition to Jokowi’s administration, Prabowo seemed to remain mum all this time.

Desmond, however, assured that Gerindra would remain critical to the government even though that was not an easy stance to adopt these days, with most political factions having joined the government’s ship. He added the party would also still nominate Prabowo for the 2019 election.

“Many things can happen in three years. We are consistent. And consistency is a rare thing amid the country’s political dynamics these days,” he said.

A survey, however, remained a survey, said senior political analyst Siti Zuhro. Therefore, it was better to wait for the results of the legislative elections or the upcoming local elections as electability did not simply translate into surveys.

“Electability can only be proven by the elections,” Siti said, adding that many factors played parts in parties’ electability, such as whether or not they were seen to be embroiled in internal spats.

CSIS is not the only pollster to find declining approval for Prabowo; a public opinion poll by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) found a similar trend of decreasing public support for Prabowo this year.