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PDI-P struggles on its own turf in Central Java gubernatorial race
Early public opinion polls for the Central Java gubernatorial race in November indicate the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is struggling to win in its own stronghold without prospective candidates that match the popularity of other hopefuls, particularly Kaesang Pangarep, the youngest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
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A worker arranges ballots boxes for the 2020 regional elections at a warehouse in Cimanggis, Depok, West Java, on Nov. 25. (JP/P.J. Leo)
Early public opinion polls for the Central Java gubernatorial race in November indicate the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is struggling to win in its own stronghold without prospective candidates that match the popularity of rival hopefuls, particularly Kaesang Pangarep, the youngest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, and chair of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI).
Despite being the largest and the only party in Central Java that can field a gubernatorial candidate pair on its own, its own politicians Bambang Wuryanto and Hendrar Prihadi fail to compete with other prospective candidates from various backgrounds, according to the latest surveys from Indikator Politik Indonesia and Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI).
The electability ratings of Bambang and Hendrar are only in the single digits, lower than 7 percent, below those of Kaesang and Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Ahmad Luthfi, two figures widely seen as representing Jokowi, at between 12 and 25 percent in various simulations of different candidates.
While the Indikator survey found that the PDI-P remained the most popular party in Central Java, with 35 percent of respondents favoring the party, these respondents were divided on whether to vote for the party’s Central Java branch head Bambang or rivals Kaesang and Luthfi.
“No matter how strong the PDI-P’s hold on Central Java is, the split-ticket voting phenomenon is very impactful in our people’s electoral behavior,” Burhanuddin said during the survey’s launch on Sunday.
In February, the party won the most seats in the province’s regional legislative council election, but its presidential candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, lost in the province to president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who ran with Jokowi’s oldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka and received the tacit support of Jokowi. The PDI-P parted ways with Jokowi following the election.
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