PDIP to Win 27 Percent of Votes: Observer

Jakarta (Antara) - Political analyst Ari Junaedi of the University of Indonesia said the PDIP will win 27.02 percent, or about 152 seats in parliament, after it nominated Jokowi as its presidential hopeful. "I am convinced PDIP will reap 27.02 percent of the votes and secure 152 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) in the April 9 legislative elections next month," he said, when contacted by Antara here on Friday. He added that it was because Jokowi will be elected not only by the PDIP supporters, but also by supporters from other parties. Therefore, PDIP's gains will increase significantly. Ari Junaedi believed that with Jokowi's nomination as a presidential candidate, the presidential election this year will last for only one round. "PDIP will emerge as the winner because it nominated Jokowi. He will win the election in only one round," he said convinced. If the presidential elections are held only for one round, costs related to it will be lower. "The campaigns will cost lower because the people will vote for Jokowi. You can see people on the street now yelling for the victory of Jokowi," Ari Junaedi added. Many people were previously expected to abstain from casting their votes (golput) in the next election, but with the nomination of Jokowi they will drop their plans to become golputs. "People who planned to become golputs will drop them and opt to vote for Jokowi. Also, the competition through campaigns is actually over now, because the PDIP is sure to emerge as the winner," he said. The PDIP has set itself a target to win 27.02 percent of the votes, or 152 seats in the parliament in the next legislative elections. The PDIP had officially nominated Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as its presidential candidate in the upcoming election. Chief of the PDIP's central executive board Puan Maharani announced Jokowi's candidacy for the presidency at the office of the party's central executive board here on Friday. (*)