Establishing the competition: Golkar Party politician Priyo Budi Santoso (left) and a participant in the Democratic Party (PD) presidential convention Ali Masykur Musa (right) speak at a discussion on a recently released survey conducted by the Political Communication Institute (PolcoMM), on Sunday.(JP/Jerry Adiguna)
A survey conducted by the Political Communication (Polcomm) Institute has said that there are five non-party figures deemed proper to compete with Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the 2014 presidential election.
The figures are State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who obtained 18.7 percent of respondents’ votes, followed by Regional Representatives Council (DPD) speaker Irman Gusman (11.9 percent), Supreme Audit Council (BPK) member Ali Masykur Musa (11.2 percent), former Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD (10.7 percent), and former trade minister Gita Wirjawan (8.7 percent).
“Except Mahfud MD, the figures are four out of 11 participants of the Democratic Party presidential election,” Polcomm director Heri Budianto said on Sunday as quoted by Antara news agency.
The survey presents several findings, one of which shows that 53 percent of respondents want a “young” president.
Ali Masykur Musa garnered a high electability rating in the survey.
Heri said that Ali Masykur Musa’s popularity had increased as respondents considered that the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Scholars Association chairman had greater support from the Nahdliyin (the faithful members), former President Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid followers, and interfaith organizations and activists.
“As a member who was born from and plays an active role in NU, it’s normal if Ali Masykur receives greater supports from NU members. Although he ranks third, he has the potential to garner lots of votes,” said Heri.
He further said that Ali Masykur had also been deemed successful in carrying out his duties as a BPK member, especially when it came to handling environment and food security issues.
A political expert from the University of Padjadjaran, Lely Arrianie, said if Ali Masykur could approach young people and capitalize on their supports, he would get an even higher electability rating. (ebf)
Source/Fuente: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/02/five-figures-could-compete-with-jokowi-survey-says.html
