The survey that Kompas Research & Development Division (Litbang Kompas) published on March 20 are still being questioned. Some netizens highlighted the political connection between the Editor-in-Chief of Kompas Ninuk Pambudy, her husband, and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

The news and research wing of Kompas, the Litbang Kompas have been slowly releasing the result of the survey they conducted over the period of Feb. 22 and March 5, 2019. The first set of results the Litbang Kompas released stirred many, with some accusing the Editor-in-Chief of Kompas of partisanship. Controversy aside, we should still note their findings, among which is the finding that the electability of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate KH Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Amin) is behind that of Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno (Prabowo-Sandi) in Jakarta.

After Joko “Jokowi” Widodo named KH Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate in the 2019 presidential race, pundits and the public began analyzing the decision. Many thought Jokowi made the right call. They believe that Ma’ruf by virtue of being a former Rais Aam of the Nahdlatul Ulama, and a then Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) would protect Jokowi from religious hardliners. Others, however, saw that the 76 year old Ma’ruf would not appeal to millennial voters. The research and development wing of the Kompas (the Litbang Kompas) have published the result of their most recent survey that may confirm the latter opinion.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo addressed the findings of the Litbang Kompas that shows his declining electability trend. He referred to the survey as a wake up call. In the meantime, Prabowo’s running mate Sandiaga Uno returned to Jakarta from East Java and immediately continued campaigning in the capital city.

The news of Chinese workers having an electronic identification card shook the country not long ago. There were reports that the said Chinese workers were registered as legitimate voters in the final list of voters. Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs have made it clear that though there are foreigners possessing electronic identity cards—to which they’re entitled for as long as they’re permanent residents—they’re not allowed to vote. One thought that this clarification would put an end to the issue, but it didn’t.

On Wednesday, March 20, the news outlet Kompas published the result of the survey that their research department (Litbang Kompas) conducted between Feb.22, 2019, to March 5, 2019. According to Litbang Kompas, the electability of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate KH Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Amin) had dipped to 49.2 percent, whereas the electability of their competitor Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno (Prabowo-Sandi) had gone up to 37.4 percent. The revelation shocked many, so much so that some questioned Kompas’ objectivity.

Golkar Party has dismissed Erwin Aksa from the central board following his declaration of support for Prabowo-Sandiaga in next month’s election. Erwin argued that he supports Prabowo because of his friendship with Sandiaga, the vice president candidate. Erwin, in specific, said that Sandiaga helped him winning the chairmanship of HIPMI (Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Assocation) in the past.