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Ahok’s suspect status could seriously hurt electability rating: Survey
The naming of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as a suspect in a blasphemy case could seriously damage his electability rating in that the majority of his supporters could desert him, a recent survey reveals.
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Incumbent Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama greets supporters during a campaign event at Rumah Lembang in Jakarta on Wednesday. Ahok had been named a blasphemy suspect, which could seriously damage his popularity rating. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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he naming of Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as a suspect in a blasphemy case could seriously damage his popularity rating in that the majority of his supporters could desert him, a recent survey reveals.
The Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) released the results of its survey on Friday, which revealed that 60 percent of the people who favored Ahok were likely to withdraw their support were he to be named a blasphemy suspect.
The survey revealed that Ahok’s electability rating could decline to 10.6 percent from the 24.6 percent before a Nov. 4 rally to demand the police declare him a suspect.
LSI conducted the survey from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5, before Ahok was named a suspect but it asked the 440 respondents whether they would continue to support him if named a suspect.
“Being a suspect gives one a bad public image. Of course, being declared a suspect doesn’t mean a person is guilty, but in public [that person] is [perceived as being] guilty,” LSI researcher Ardian Sopa told reporters when releasing the results of the survey on Friday.
The National Police named Ahok a suspect on Wednesday, after conducting a case screening and questioning scores of experts, including Islamic scholars and linguists. (jun)
