JAKARTA. The hopes of Mardani Ali Sera, the campaign chief of the Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno, have been buoyed following the announcement of the results of a survey that places the pair in second place, around 10 percentage points behind the incumbent pair.

Less than two weeks after Anies and Sandiaga registered themselves at the Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD), the electability of Anies-Sandiaga stood at 21.1 percent compared the 31.4 percent of Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat.

Meanwhile, the rating of Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and his running mate Sylviana Murni was at 19.3 percent.

“Anies-Sandiaga are not yet known by all residents but their electability has become our base capital,” Mardani told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, adding that the campaign team will work harder to gain the best result in the election.

The survey was conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 and involved 440 respondents.

“This result has motivated the team to work harder to curry the favor of Jakartans for Anies and Sandiaga,” said Mardani, who is a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician.

He said campaign team members were enthusiastic about introducing the pair to residents due to the integrity, capacity and electability of the pair in addition to other positive factors such as Anies’ intelligence, politeness and background as an educator. “Meanwhile Sandiaga is a polite and good-looking slim runner,” said Mardani. (Callistasia Anggun Wijaya)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie