Jokowi popularity soaring: survey

JAKARTA. A new survey by Jakarta-based pollster the United Data Center (PDB) has found that Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is the potential candidate to beat in the 2014 presidential election.

PDB researcher Agus Herta Sumarto said that the electability rating of Jokowi now stood at 36 percent, ahead of his strongest rival Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, with 6.6 percent.

In the PDB’s earlier survey conducted in January 2013, Jokowi’s electability rating was only 1 percent higher than that of Prabowo.

“If a presidential election were to take place today, Jokowi would be the clear winner,” Agus said.

The PDB interviewed more than 500 individuals for the survey in the country’s 10 major cities between Sept. 21 and Sept. 24. The survey also found that none of prospective presidential candidates who were now contesting the Democratic Party convention could compete with Jokowi.

“Even the convention’s most popular candidate Dahlan Iskan is way behind Jokowi,” Agus said, adding that the electability rating for Dahlan was 5 percent. (The Jakarta Post)