Jakarta Gubernatorial Debate Draws Social Media's Attention

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- The first debate for the Jakarta gubernatorial election, with the theme “Strengthening Human Resources and Transforming Jakarta into a Global City”, was held on Sunday evening at the Jakarta International Expo here, drawing much attention on social media.

Organised by the Jakarta Election Commission, the event showcased three pairs of candidates competing for voters’ support across the province, with the campaign period set from Sept 25 to Nov 23, and voting scheduled for Nov 27.

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Rustika Herlambang, director of communications at Indonesia Indicator, an organisation that uses artificial intelligence to analyse trends in Indonesia, shared her insights into the online reactions.

She noted that former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil and his running mate, Suswono, a former agriculture minister, received the highest number of mentions during the debate, totalling 1,882 on the social media platform X.

Following them were Pramono Anung, a former Cabinet secretary, and Rano Karno, an actor and politician, with 1,198 mentions, while retired police officer, Dharma Pongrekun, and politician, Kun Wardana Abyoto, received 304 mentions.

“Sentiment analysis revealed a balanced level of negative sentiments across all candidates, while emotional responses highlighted feelings of trust, support and anticipation from netizens,” Rustika told local television channel SCTV.

She explained that this anticipation reflects the hopes netizens have for each pair of candidates, adding that joy in the data indicates happiness, or even subtle jibes at times.

Rustika said the debate was competitive, with Rano winning, closely followed by Ridwan. Although Rano led, the small margin showed both candidates are popular with the public.

“This trend underscores Rano’s ability to capture attention, even as Ridwan remains a strong social media presence. Rano’s performance seems to have struck a chord with netizens, demonstrating the effectiveness of his messaging during the debate.”

The Jakarta gubernatorial election consistently attracts attention, given that the city is a major economic hub with a diverse population.

Key voter concerns include transportation, infrastructure, environmental management, and social welfare.

The upcoming regional election in November will span 508 districts and cities across 37 provinces in the republic.

-- BERNAMA