The relentless onslaught of news about Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s case of alleged blasphemy and the protests surrounding it have clearly had a huge impact on people’s feelings about the 2017 Jakarta governor’s race. The results of a new survey seem to show just how deeply it has affected the psychology of the average Jakarta voter.
In polls taken before the blasphemy controversy blew up, Ahok was consistently given high satisfaction ratings by citizens for his performance as governor, which translated into a high, nearly unassailable electability rating.
And even after weeks of negative news regarding Ahok’s blasphemy charges, the massive Nov 4 protest against him, and the police formally naming him a suspect in the case, people still seem to think he’s doing a pretty good job.
Survey group Indikator Politik Indonesia conducted a poll from Nov 15 – Nov 22 (so mostly after Ahok was named a suspect by the police on Nov 16) and found that 69% of Jakartans were satisfied with his performance as governor, a number that is very similar to survey results taken before the blasphemy controversy.
However, despite that high level of satisfaction, the same survey found that, when asked who they would choose to be governor of Jakarta, only 19.4% of those same respondents picked Ahok. In terms of electability, Ahok came in second to Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, who was picked by 22.3% of respondents (0.1% of respondents picked Islamic Defenders Front leader Rizieq Shihab).
Similarly, when asked which candidate pair they would be voting for in next year’s election, the team of Agus and his vice governor pick Sylviana Murni was picked by 30.4% of respondents while Ahok and current Vice Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat came in second with 26.2%. Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno were ranked third with 24.5%.
Indikator Politik Indonesia Director Burhanudin Muhtadi tried to explain the massive gap between Ahok’s satisfaction rating and his electability. “Rationally, citizens recognize the performance of Ahok and Djarot as the incumbents. But there is a split between the heads and hearts of the people, they recognize the incumbent’s performance is good but in their heart it is difficult for them to accept Ahok,” he said as quoted by Vivanews.
If so many Jakartans can recognize the good work Ahok has done but would still vote against him over a religious issue that many see as clearly being exploited for political purposes, then maybe the capital really doesn’t deserve him.
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