64% of Jakartans clueless about gubernatorial candidates: Survey

The Jakarta gubernatorial election is less than a month away and yet a new survey suggests that 64 percent of Jakartans are oblivious about who is running.

The survey, conducted by the University of Indonesia’s Science and Politics Department (FISIP), also shows that 57.9 percent of Jakartans do not know the exact schedule of the city’s upcoming elections

“These survey results show that there still needs to be a lot of public outreach. It is hoped that increased promotion will lead to higher public awareness and better public participation,” said a researcher at FISIP, Dirga Ardiansa, on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

The survey was conducted between May 24 and June 4 with 594 respondents and a 4 percent margin of error.

There are six tickets running for Jakarta governor and deputy governor on election day, slated for July 11.

They are incumbent Governor Fauzi Bowo and running mate Nachrowi Ramli; Hidayat Nurwahid and economist Didik J. Rachbini; South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin and retired general Nono Sampono; economist Faisal Basri and entrepreneur Biem Benjamin; incumbent Surakarta mayor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and former East Belitung regent Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama; and Gen. (ret) Hendardji Soepandji and politician Ahmad Riza Patria.

The results of the election will be formally announced on July 19-20, unless there is a runoff, which would be held in August. The newly elected governor and deputy governor will be installed on Oct. 7.