Prabowo-Hatta Ticket Aims to Take In at Least 60% of Votes in S. Sumatra

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa at the General Election Commission on June 1, 2014. (Twitter Photo/@Official_PAN)

Palembang. Less than a month before Indonesians go to the polls to elect a new president, candidate Prabowo Subianto and vice presidential running mate Hatta Rajasa are hoping to dominate votes in provinces across Sumatra, with a forecast of taking in at least 60 percent of the votes in the south, an official from their campaign team said on Thursday.

“In South Sumatra, we are certain that we will get 60 to 70 percent of the votes,” Idrus Marham, secretary general of the Golkar Party and deputy campaign manager for Prabowo and Hatta said. Prabowo is chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), while Hatta is chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN). Both parties are part of a coalition with Golkar.

Hatta, as a native of Palembang, can attract voters, and Idrus said that Golkar has a strong base of voters in the region. He added that the coalition was also expecting to take in a large amount of votes in other Sumatra provinces such as Lampung, Aceh and West Sumatra. Sumatra is the second-most populated island in Indonesia.

“Sumatra will be the area that could give us big votes. We are optimistic with the recent developments,” Idrus said.

Prabowo and Hatta have been campaigning across Sumatra ahead of the July 9 presidential election. Their main opponent is Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo and his vice presidential running mate Jusuf Kalla. The winning candidate will succeed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, whose second five-year term ends in October.

By Suara Pembaruan on 12:14 pm Jun 12, 2014