Prabowo Maintains Advantage In Polls For 2024 Elections

Prabowo maintains advantage in polls for 2024 elections

FILE PHOTO: Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto gestures while attending a meeting of his Gerindra Party, in Bogor, Indonesia August 12, 2022. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo/File Photo

Prabowo Subianto, a prominent presidential candidate, emerged as the frontrunner in a second consecutive opinion poll, narrowly edging out the ruling party’s Ganjar Pranowo. Despite his lead, Defence Minister Prabowo has not yet officially registered for the upcoming February election, which will determine the successor to the popular Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as his second term comes to a close next year.

According to a survey conducted from October 2 to 10 by the polling company Indikator Politik, Prabowo garnered the support of 37% of the 4,300 respondents, while former Central Java governor Pranowo received 34.5%, and former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan had 21.9%. Approximately 7% remained undecided. A separate poll of 1,620 Indonesians from October 2 to 8, conducted by Lembaga Survei Indonesia and released on Thursday, yielded a similar outcome, with Prabowo again at 37%, Ganjar at 35.2%, and Anies at 22.7%.

Prabowo’s lead, which he has maintained in most polls throughout the year, can be attributed to approximately 30% of Jokowi’s supporters expressing intent to vote for him, pollsters indicating that he secured support from both his loyalists and Jokowi’s loyalists.

Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, is set to hold presidential and legislative elections on February 14, with nearly 205 million eligible voters, a significant portion of whom are under 30. Ganjar and Anies, both 54 years old, officially registered for the race along with their respective running mates on the opening day of registration. Prabowo, aged 72, announced that he would register this week.