Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) revealed that Mahfud MD’s likeability level is higher than Gibran Rakabuming Raka and Muhaimin Iskandar, including among the millennial generation and generation Z. However, the electability level of the three is still far below that of the presidential candidates.
SMRC founder Saiful Mujani said that based on a survey conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) from 2 to 8 October 2023, the electability level of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Mahfud MD and Muhaimin Iskandar had not been able to help increase votes of support for Prabowo Subianto, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan. He assumed that this fact emerged because the level of awareness of each vice presidential candidate was still far below that of the presidential candidate.
“Prabowo is already 95-96, almost 100 percent. So his popularity is very high. Both Ganjar Pranowo are at 80 percent. “Likewise, Anies, the figure is above 80, 85 percent, something like that,” said Saiful Mujani in the program ‘Political Surgery with Saiful Mujani’ which was broadcast on the SMRC TV YouTube channel, Thursday (2/11).
“Well, while these deputy candidates, their respective deputy candidates, so far it is still a long way to reach their numbers,” he continued.
In the LSI survey, public awareness of Gibran was around 71 percent, Mahfud 62 percent, and Muhaimin 50 percent.
The popularity of the three vice presidential candidates has indeed increased in the last three months. Gibran rose from 61 to 71 percent, Mahfud rose from 53 to 62 percent, and Muhaimin rose from 37 to 50 percent. However, this increase has not yet reached the popularity figures of the presidential candidates. According to Saiful, the minimum level of familiarity required for a vice presidential candidate to be competitive must be at least 90 percent.
Saiful said, apart from the level of familiarity, the level of liking is also important to take into account. If you are only known but not liked, he said, that will be a problem.
Based on the LSI survey in early October, the level of liking for Gibran was 77 percent, while for Mahfud and Muhaimin it was 83 and 65 percent respectively.
“From this perspective, in terms of quality, Mahfud is quite an ideal partner. Because he has added value, more value than other representatives and even compared to the presidential candidate himself. “The only problem is that Mahfud’s awareness is not yet high,” said Saiful.
Survey data also shows that Mahfud MD achieved a high level of liking among the Z generation group, namely 83 percent, followed by Gibran 79 percent and Muhaimin 61 percent. Meanwhile, among the millennial generation, Mahfud has a liking level of 82 percent, Gibran 76 percent and Muhaimin 66 percent. This, according to Saiful, shows that there is no generational subjectivity in liking vice presidential candidates based on age.
Gaining the Sympathy of Millennials and Generation Z
On a different occasion, political practitioner, Priyo Budi Santoso, said that it was very important to gain support from 46.8 million (22.8 percent) generation Z voters and 66.8 million (33.6 percent) millennial voters in the 2024 Election. The challenge, according to Priyo, generation Z and the millennial generation are an open-minded age group so they are not easily influenced by indoctrination and ideology of political jargon.
“So then, if we talk about it now, political party leaders and national figures who are now leading parties tend to carry out de-ideologization, including intense indoctrination to build solidarity with the party. “This certainly collides with the mindset, perspective, views and nature of thought of what is called generation Z and the previous millennial generation,” said Priyo in the 2024 Presidential Election Webinar on the ICMI TV YouTube channel, Friday (20/10).
In the same webinar, Chair of the Political Coordination of the Central Leadership Council (MPP) of the Indonesian Muslim Scholars Association (ICMI) Professor Lili Romli said the programs offered were an important factor for generation Z and millennials in choosing presidential and vice presidential candidates. Referring to the results of a survey conducted by the Center Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and released on September 26 2022, Lili said, 63.8 percent of generation Z and millennials support a democratic system and want leaders who are honest and not corrupt (34.8 percent), as well as populist and simple (15.9 percent).
“Strategic issues that leaders must pay attention to are community welfare and employment opportunities. This is actually what the younger generation, the millennial generation and generation Z, want. “This is what must be photographed or promoted as a program for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates,” said Lili Romli.
There are at least five strategic issues that are of serious concern to young voters in the future, namely high prices of basic necessities, limited job opportunities, high poverty rates, expensive health services and costs, as well as poor educational services and quality.
Source: VOA
