Indonesia’s Jokowi still leads despite Prabowo’s surge

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian presidential favorite Joko “Jokowi” Widodo still has a comfortable lead less than two weeks before polling day despite a surge in his rival’s popularity, a survey showed Friday, June 27.

But more than 20% of voters quizzed said they were undecided – in line with other recent polls that suggest the July 9 election could still go either way.

Jokowi, seen as a fresh face in a country still dominated by figures from Suharto’s long dictatorship, has seen a lead of some 30 percentage points a few months ago rapidly dwindle in the face of a tough challenge from Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo, who was a general during the Suharto era and has a checkered human rights record, has run a slick, well-funded campaign and Widodo’s team have accused him of repeatedly seeking to smear their candidate.

But a survey from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) on Friday showed Jokowi, still ahead by 9 percentage points, on 43% to Prabowo’s 34%. 

But 23% of people quizzed for the LIPI poll, conducted between June 5 and 24, said they were undecided.

Other recent polls have also shown Widodo, who won legions of fans during his time as Jakarta governor, with a lead of between 4 and 8 points.

Tobias Basuki, from Jakarta-based think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the race could be tight given that Prabowo had closed the gap so quickly.

“The gap is merely a single digit now,” he said.

LIPI surveyed around 800 people across Indonesia for the poll. – Rappler.com