Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is on course to win presidential elections in July with a strong lead over his main rivals, a poll showed Friday. The Indonesian Survey Institute poll showed the liberal ex-general was the most popular candidate regardless of who he might pick as his running mate. Asked who they would vote for if the election was held this month, half the respondents opted for Yudhoyono compared with just 18.5% for his closest rival, former president Megawati Sukarnoputri.Yudhoyono`s popularity had surged about 7% while Megawati`s was little changed since January.
Former military men Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto received 4.3% and 3.0% support respectively, while Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, the sultan of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, had 3.9%.
Asked who they supported for the April parliamentary elections, almost a quarter said Yudhoyono`s Democrat Party while Megawati`s Democratic Party of Struggle scored 17.3%. The former ruling party Golkar, the political vehicle of Suharto during his 32 year dictatorship which ended more than a decade ago, had 15.9% support.
The legislative election will be held on April 9 and the presidential election three months later. The poll was conducted among a sample of 2,455 Indonesians.
