According to a report by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI), in February 2023, Ganjar Pranowo had an electability rating of 35% and was the top contender in a three-candidate presidential election simulation.
However, by April 2023, Ganjar's electability had dropped to 26.9%, placing him second behind Prabowo Subianto.
The electability of the Governor of Central Java decreased after he refused the entry of the Israeli national football team, which was followed by the cancellation of Indonesia's status as host of the U-20 World Cup.
"It is possible that Ganjar Pranowo's statement regarding the Israeli national team, resulting in the cancellation of the U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, explains the decline in Ganjar's support base," stated LSI in its report.
"Ganjar Pranowo's name was also frequently mentioned as the party most responsible for FIFA's decision to cancel Indonesia's status as host of the U-20 World Cup," said LSI.
On the other hand, Prabowo Subianto's electability increased from 26.7% (February 2023) to 30.3% (April 2023).
Similarly, Anies Baswedan's electability rose from 24% (February 2023) to 25.3% (April 2023).
The number of respondents who said they didn't know/didn't answer the survey questions also increased from 14.3% (February 2023) to 17.5% (April 2023).
"That means, simply put, the 8.1% drop in Ganjar's votes was split between 'don't know/didn't answer,' then partly to Prabowo and a small portion to Anies," said LSI Executive Director Djayadi Hanan in a virtual press conference on the LSI YouTube account, Sunday (9/4/2023).
"The main point is, there was a significant decrease and it seems there was a shift in votes from Ganjar to Prabowo. Although, (the shift in votes) wasn't as much as the decrease in Ganjar's (electability)," said Djayadi.
This LSI survey involved 1,229 respondents aged 17 years and older or already married in February 2023 and early April 2023.
Sample selection was conducted using the random digit dialing (RDD) method, a technique of selecting samples through the random generation of telephone numbers, followed by validation and screening.
The margin of error for this survey is estimated to be around 2.9% with a 95% confidence level, assuming simple random sampling.