A Pollster Studies Possibility of 3rd Candidate in 2019 Election
26 March 2018 11:36 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The possibility of a third political spectrum emerging in the 2019 presidential election has made the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) wary of the candidate they endorse, President Joko Widodo or Jokowi.
“The fight can extend to a long period of time, it can also split the votes,” said Heri Budianto, Political Communication Institute Heri Budianto on Sunday, March 25. The emergence of the so-called ‘third axis’ can potentially drag the presidential election into two rounds.
According to the poll that the institute conducted on March 18 - March 21 that involved 1,200 respondents, there was 30.45 percent of voters who believe that a third political axis will emerge. However, 20.19 percent do not think that it will be formed and 49.63 percent is undecided.
Despite the popularity of a third axis, polls suggest that 41.15 percent members of the public prefer the upcoming presidential election to be participated by just two candidates, while 37.47 percent wants to see three presidential candidates in the 2019 election.
If the presidential election will really carry on with just two presidential candidates, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will likely win as he is the incumbent and poll results show that Jokowi has 49.08 percent electability against Prabowo Subianto who scored a 29.67 percent electability.
However, Heri explained that Gerindra and PKS -that is said to endorse Prabowo Subianto- will gain votes from people who dislike Jokowi.
CAESAR AKBAR