Doel Prihatin Poltracking Whose Survey Results Superior RK-Suswono Sanctioned

JAKARTA - Candidate for Deputy Governor number 3 Rano Karno (Doel) admitted that he was concerned about the decision of the Ethics Council of the Indonesian Public Opinion Survey Association (Persepi) which imposed sanctions on the Indonesian Poltracking survey agency.

This sanction was imposed following the results of a different survey between Poltracking and the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI). Perceptions cannot assess the validity of the Poltracking survey which published electability data for the Jakarta cagub-cawagub pair Ridwan Kamil-Suswono ahead of 50 percent.

"The decision is that there are sanctions, maybe there is an indirect technical decision, I feel only concerned," said Doel when met at Pondok Pinang, Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta, Tuesday, November 5.

Doel admitted that he did not understand how technical the retrieval and analysis of Poltracking survey data was considered odd by Persepi. However, the former governor of Banten understands that the sanctions are a consequence that must be accepted.

"I'm not good at surveying, but maybe it's a consequence. If it's an institution that I see as prestigious, how can that happen? I don't understand. It means I'm just concerned," said Doel.

For information, the Persepi Ethics Council has examined two institutions that released survey results regarding the electability of candidates for Governor-Deputy Governor of Jakarta with different results at the same time.

In a survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) conducted on October 10-17, Pramono-Rano's electability was recorded at 41.6 percent, then Ridwan Kamil-Suswono 37.4 percent, and Dharma Pongrekun-Kun Wardana 6.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Poltracking survey conducted on October 10-16 explained that the electability of RK-Suswono was at 51.6 percent, followed by Pramono-Rano at 36.4 percent and Dharma-Kun at 3.9 percent.

Chairman of the Persepi Ethics Council, Asep Saefuddin, explained that the results of the examination stated that LSI had conducted a survey in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOP) for public opinion surveys.

"The examination and implementation method (LSI survey) can be well analyzed," Asep said in his statement, Monday, November 4.

Meanwhile, the Ethics Council cannot assess whether the implementation of the Jakarta Pilkada survey conducted by Poltracking is in accordance with the SOP for public opinion surveys. Because, there is no certainty which data should be used as the basis for the assessment.

During the examination, Poltracking could not show the original data of 2,000 samples they took from respondents. Thus, the Ethics Council decided to impose sanctions on Poltracking.

"The Ethics Council will impose sanctions on Poltracking Indonesia in the future not to be allowed to publish survey results without first obtaining data approval and examination by the Ethics Council, unless Poltracking Indonesia is no longer a member of Persepi," explained Asep.