JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Without the support of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) will have to fight harder to get reelected. PKS commands a block of mass support that cannot be discounted," Bima Arya Sugiarto, a poltical observer from Paramadina University, said here Thursday.
The PKS is set to reconsider its political contract with SBY’s Democratic Party because it was not involved in the decision-making process that led SBY to choose central bank Governor Boediono as his running mate for the presidential election on July 8. PKS plans to decide whether or not it will continue its coalition with the Democratic Party after the Democratic Party announes SBY’s running mate on May 15.
Arya said that PKS had a large following down to grassroot level that could help boost SBY’s collection of votes in the election. With regard to Boediono, he said, Boediono should immediately tell the public about his nomination. He said Boediono also had to strengthen his political communication with political leaders to equal SBY’s capability.
The chief of the Indonesia Survey Insitute (LSI), Saiful Mujani, however, said he predicted the SBY-Boediono ticket would remain to lead in the election without PKS support. He said although PKS withdrew the pair would still be able to collect no less than 50 percent of votes in the election, higher than other possible rivals.
Based on the result of a national LSI survey from May 17 to April 3, 2009, involving 2.014 respondents, with a margin of error of 2.8 percent, the SBY-Boediono ticket would be able to collect 70 percent of votes while Megawati pairing with Prabowo only 21 percent and Jusuf Kall with Wiranto only three percent. According to Mujani, some six percent of voters meanwhile are still undecided about who they would choose.
