According to a Poltracking Indonesia survey, Erick Thohir emerged as the strongest vice presidential candidate (cawapres) contender in September 2023.
Poltracking conducted the survey from September 3-9, 2023, involving 1,200 respondents aged 17 and above or already married during the survey period. The sample was selected using a multistage random sampling method.
Data collection was performed through face-to-face interviews, with a margin of error of approximately 2.9% and a 95% confidence level.
In a simulation involving 10 names, Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir received the most votes as a vice presidential candidate.
"Erick Thohir obtained the highest electability rating (19%), followed by Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (15.7%), and Ridwan Kamil (12.4%)," said Hanta Yuda, Executive Director of Poltracking Indonesia, in his survey report.
Meanwhile, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Chairman of the Democratic Party, ranked fourth (10.2%), followed by Muhaimin Iskandar, Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) (8.1%), and Mahfud MD, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (8%).
A smaller percentage of respondents chose Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Governor of East Java (4%), former TNI Commander Andika Perkasa (3%), Airlangga Hartarto, Chairman of Golkar Party (2.7%), and Puan Maharani, Speaker of the House of Representatives (1.7%).
The remaining 15.2% of respondents said they did not know or did not answer the survey questions.
According to Yuda, the electability trends of Erick Thohir and Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno increased compared to the previous survey period. In the Poltracking July 2023 survey, Erick Thohir had an electability rating of 18.1%, while Sandiaga Uno had 15.3%.
During the same period, the electability of Muhaimin Iskandar and Mahfud MD also tended to rise since the beginning of 2023, while the electability of Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Andika Perkasa, and Airlangga Hartarto remained relatively stable.
Yuda also noted that the electability of Ridwan Kamil, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, and Puan Maharani as potential vice presidential candidates tended to decline from July to September 2023.