INDEF Poll: Mahfud MD Deemed Most Classy in Vice Presidential Debate

A vice-presidential candidate debate focusing on sustainable development, natural resources, the environment, energy, food, agrarian issues, indigenous communities, and villages was held on January 21, 2024.

According to data from the Continuum Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), vice-presidential candidate number 3, Mahfud MD, was considered by the public to be the most sophisticated candidate in the vice-presidential debate, with a positivity rate of 69.02%.

Continuum INDEF also noted that of all discussions related to Mahfud MD on social media, the majority (44.5%) discussed "praising Pak Mahfud's intelligent performance."

Next, 5.2% of netizens discussed Mahfud's statement during the debate, namely, "no need to answer trivial questions."

Meanwhile, there was one negative topic raised by the public regarding Mahfud MD, namely, "Part of the cabinet but questioning performance," with 5.1%.

Then, 3.2% discussed Mahfud regarding the keyword "Pak Mahfud's classy presentation," and 2.3% praised "Pak Mahfud's commendable patience."

"With his capabilities as an academic and his long tenure in various government sectors, netizens considered his answers and other aspects to be classy," said Wahyu Tri Utomo, Big Data Researcher at Continuum INDEF.

The data collected by Continuum INDEF comprised 108,914 discussions related to the vice-presidential debate on social media platforms Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok from January 21-22, 2024.

Continuum INDEF also claims that the discussions they analyzed are purely public opinions, excluding opinions from mass media accounts and paid social media influencers ("buzzers").

(Also read: Many People Disapprove of Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates Attacking Each Other in Presidential Debate)