Susilo's popularity dips: LSI<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Only three days before the presidential election runoff, an
\nopinion poll on Friday showed a slight dip in the popularity of
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but that he was still likely to beat
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri by a landslide.<\/p>\n
In its latest \"quick\" survey conducted after the last day of
\nthe three-day campaign on Thursday, the Indonesian Survey
\nInstitute (LSI) found that 52.6 percent of respondents preferred
\nSusilo as president for the 2004\/2009 term to Megawati, who
\nenjoyed the support from 34.3 percent of the respondents.<\/p>\n
The survey also found that 13.1 percent of respondents
\nremained undecided or would not participate in the poll.<\/p>\n
\"In comparison with our previous survey between Sept. 10 and
\nSept. 20, the support for Susilo has remained stable, while the
\nlevel of support for Megawati has increased,\" the survey report
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The three-day campaign, marked mostly by intensive media
\ncampaigning and televised dialogs, had a little impact on the
\npreferences of voters, the survey said.<\/p>\n
In a previous survey published on Tuesday, the LSI found that
\n61.3 percent of respondents would vote for Susilo as against 32.7
\npercent for Megawati.<\/p>\n
During the \"quick\" survey, the LSI interviewed 2,760
\nrespondents across the country's 32 provinces. The margin of
\nerror is 2 percent.<\/p>\n
The survey predicted that little would change over the next
\nthree days, as 75.2 percent of respondents said it was most
\nunlikely that they would change their preferences, while another
\n16.8 percent said it was unlikely they would change their views.<\/p>\n
As in its previous surveys, the LSI underscored the inability
\nof the political parties to mobilize support for the candidates.<\/p>\n
Megawati has the backing of her own Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party and some other major
\nparties.<\/p>\n
The PDI-P and Golkar are normally thought off as having
\neffective control over their rank-and-file down to the village
\nlevel.<\/p>\n
The election results could also turn out different from the
\nscenario predicted by the polls as Megawati, in her capacity as
\nthe incumbent president, still wields power over the state
\nbureaucracy.<\/p>\n
As indicated by the experience of past polls, the pollsters
\nmay also be overestimating the support that Susilo will garner.
\nIn the first round of the presidential election, the pollsters,
\nincluding the LSI, predicted that Susilo would take over 40
\npercent of the vote.<\/p>\n
The official results announced by the General Elections
\nCommission (KPU), however, gave Susilo only 33 percent of the
\nvote.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, another quick survey conducted by the People's
\nVoter Education Network (JPPR) found that 75 percent of
\nrespondents were concerned about the possibility of state
\nofficials taking sides in the election runoff.<\/p>\n
The JPPR interviewed 20 district coordinators of over 45,000
\nobservers in nine provinces who are responsible for collecting
\ninformation on the polls.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilos-popularity-dips-lsi-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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