Which Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates Are Most Popular Among the Public?

The Charta Politika survey institute released a survey on the recognition levels of three prospective presidential (presidential candidates - capres) and vice-presidential (vice-presidential candidates - cawapres) candidates who have registered with the General Election Commission (KPU) to contest the 2024 Presidential Election.

The survey results show that Prabowo Subianto, the prospective presidential candidate nominated by the United Indonesia Coalition (Koalisi Indonesia Maju), is the most popular figure among the public, with a recognition rate of 98.6%. Of those who know Prabowo, 83.4% of respondents like him.

"In terms of presidential candidates, Mr. Prabowo is certainly still ahead because this is his fourth attempt at the presidential election. Once as a vice-presidential candidate, and this is his third time as a presidential candidate," said Charta Politika Executive Director Yunarto Wijaya in a press conference on his YouTube channel, Monday (6/11/2023).

The second highest popularity belongs to Anies Baswedan at 96%, with a 79.4% approval rating. Next is Ganjar Pranowo with a 92.5% recognition rate and an 85.8% approval rating.

Meanwhile, among prospective vice-presidential candidates, Gibran Rakabuming Raka is the most popular candidate, at 81.2%.

He is followed by Mahfud MD, recognized by 78.6% of respondents, and Muhaimin Iskandar, also known as Cak Imin, at 78.1%.

"Perhaps because he is the president's son, his exposure is certainly the greatest, and the controversies surrounding Mas Gibran are also the most numerous," said Yunarto.

Meanwhile, Mahfud MD is recorded as the prospective vice-presidential candidate with the highest approval rating, at 94.2%. This proportion surpasses Gibran's 84.4% and Cak Imin's 85.5%. In fact, this pairing with Ganjar surpasses the three other prospective presidential candidates.

According to Yunarto, the high level of public approval for Mahfud MD is the result of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs' performance, which is considered to have minimal negative controversies.

"Perhaps the negative aspect of Prof. Mahfud that I often hear people say is that he likes to go fast, for fear of crashing, because he speaks his mind," he said.

This survey involved 2,400 respondents from all provinces in Indonesia aged 17 years and older or who are married. The sample was taken using a multistage random sampling method.

Data collection was conducted from October 26-31, 2023, using face-to-face interview methods. The margin of error is 2% with a 95% confidence level.

(See also: Counting the Followers of Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates on Twitter, Who is the Most Popular?)