Prabowo Will Not Have Enough Time: Cyrus Network

Jakarta (Antara) - Survey institute Cyrus Network is predicting that the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa presidential pair will not have enough time to boost its electability statistic. "As the presidential election is only three weeks away, it will be difficult for Prabowo to make a significant change," Cyrus Network executive director Hasan Nasbi said here on Tuesday. According to the results of Cyrus Network's survey on May 25-31, the electability statistic of the Prabowo-Hatta pair was 38.8 percent, while for its rival - the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla duo - it was 51.6 percent, he added. Cyrus Network had also conducted a survey following the presidential debate on Monday and the results showed that the Prabowo-Hatta pair gained 41.1 percent, while the Jokowi-JK duo was 53.6 percent in preference. Hasan said 30 percent of the voters will make a choice among others based on the results of the debate. More debates still have to be conducted. He said the Prabowo-Hatta pair did not maximize the first debate for boosting support. On the other hand, he said the Jokowi-JK pair, although its performance was not outstanding, had performed beyond expectation. "Prabowo should have used the opportunity to grab the 30 percent potential votes (from the undecided voters)," Hasan added. He said Prabowo's electability statistic had risen significantly from November 2013 to May 2014, but he predicted that it will not rise higher than the current level or surpass that of Jokowi as the election was only three weeks away. Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Jokowi-JK pair, Anis Baswedan, said the way to win the election was still long. "Its electability statistic must be maintained for the next three weeks," he noted. Regarding the presidential debate on Monday evening, Anis said the Jokowi-JK pair had been able to perform as they were together as a force. (*) Reporting by Taufik Ridwan EDITED BY INE