TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dirga Ardiansa, a social statistics expert from the University of Indonesia, said that Jakarta Gubernatorial candidate pair number two Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok and Djarot Saiful Hidayat had a chance to win the second round of the gubernatorial election. However, Dirga said that the candidate pair did not have a solid communication strategy.

“The communication strategy must be able to raise sympathy among many people to win the governor seat,” Dirga said during a discussion on quick count held by Tempo in Jakarta on Wednesday, April 19, 2017.

Based on quick count results released by pollsters Indikator Politik, Pollmark and LSI Denny JA, Ahok-Djarot are behind candidate pair number three Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno.

According to Dirga, Ahok and Djarot should have offered policies that favor lower class people, instead of insisting on relocations and reclamation projects.

“So, this is not about [whether Ahok is] minority, but his policies are not popular among public,” Dirga explained.

Political expert Philips J. Vermonte, one of the panelists in the discussion, viewed that the minority issue was the key factor of Ahok-Djarot’s defeat.

“This proves that absence of equal opportunity for double minority people like Ahok,” Philips said.

According to Philips, Ahok’s defeat could be a bad precedent for minorities who wish to participate in politics.

“People from minority groups could refrain [from participating] due to conflicts [related to religion and ethnicity],” Philips added.

However, Dirga spoke highly of Ahok and Djarot for managing to gain 42.51 percent of votes.

“The figure is not insignificant. It’s amazing they can gain that many supports,” Dirga said.

ZARA AMELIA | SSN