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To many voters, a Prabowo presidency is really Jokowi 3.0
The President's not-so-behind-the-scenes maneuvering in the 2024 race is plain for all to see, but how many voters will have fallen for it by the time election day rolls around?
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto dine together on Jan. 5, 2024 at the Seribu Rasa restaurant in Menteng, Central Jakarta. (Instagram/@prabowo)
That Prabowo Subianto is leading the pack for next month’s presidential race is thanks in no small measure to his campaign platform, which vows to protect and continue the legacy of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
Prabowo is channeling Jokowi, and more and more voters are falling for it.
The defense minister has no qualms about portraying himself throughout the campaign season as heir apparent to Jokowi, who will step down in October after 10 years in power.
For his part, Jokowi has openly given his blessing to his erstwhile rival and used his still-high approval rating to give Prabowo an edge against the two other contenders. A case in point was when he moved to make it possible for his 36-year-old eldest son and Sukarta Mayor Gibran Rakabumi Raka to run as Prabowo’s running mate, circumventing the candidacy age of 40 years in the General Elections Law.
While it is not clear what kind of a deal Prabowo and Jokowi have struck over this year’s election, many voters are warming to the idea of a Prabowo presidency, primarily because of the strong support he is receiving from the incumbent. Prabowo’s electability, according to all reliable surveys, soared quickly in November after he named Gibran as his vice president.
With just one month to go until the election, the Prabowo-Gibran ticket is aiming to win the election in a single round, and they might just succeed.
A survey published last week by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) shows the pair is leading at 43.7 percent. Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan is second at 26.1 percent, and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo is trailing in third at 19.4 percent.
