Jakarta. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, is the frontrunner for the Central Java gubernatorial election next year with an overwhelming lead over his closest rivals, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The mayor of the Central Java town of Solo wins support from 45 percent of respondents surveyed by Parameter Politik Indonesia.

By comparison, current Vice Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen aka Gus Yasin -- who comes in second -- receives support from only 5.8 percent of respondents.

Nine other candidates presented during the survey receive less than 4 percent of votes, such as provincial procurement agency head Hendrar Prihadi, Kendal Regent Dico Ganinduto, and Muslim scholar Yusuf Chudlori.

In a three-way hypothetical race against Gus Yasin and Hendrar, Gibran would secure an outright win by 53 percent of the votes, the survey says.

"Based on the data, Gibran has a bigger chance to win the gubernatorial election in Central Java than in Jakarta,” Parameter Politik Executive Director Adi Priyatno said in a video conference.

Jokowi was the mayor of Solo when he successfully contested in the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2012, before leaping to the presidential election two years later and getting reelected in 2019.

The survey was conducted from June 2-11 in 35 regencies and municipalities across Central Java, involving 800 adults in the province.

The pollster said the survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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