Deep dive: Big data consulting company Drone Emprit founder Ismail Fahmi demonstrates big data crawling at a recent event in Jakarta.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)Until a few years ago, political actors relied mainly on surveys and pollsters to measure their electability and capture voters’ aspirations — but things have moved on from there. Today, computer algorithms and big data analysis play a new yet crucial role in offering a basis for political maneuver.

Politicians and strategists interviewed by The Jakarta Post acknowledge that their political parties are considering big data analysis to devise campaign messages and political strategies, and they believe other parties, if not all of them, are doing the same.

Big data is believed to have played a significant role in the United States presidential election in 2016, won by President Donald Trump, and in the Brexit referend...