Jakarta. Several legal problems beleaguering the Jakarta administration will have little impact towards the electability of incumbent Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama in next year's gubernatorial election, political analysts said.

Many surveys have consistently predicted Basuki, popularly known as Ahok, will enjoy a landslide win as he seeks a second five-year term in office but several unpopular decisions, including the now halted construction of 17 artificial islands currently being investigated by the Corruption Eradication Commission, has given his rivals a much needed edge.

Since becoming governor in 2014 Ahok has been destroying dozens of dwellings built illegally on government properties. The move has made Basuki unpopular with victims of these forced evictions, something which Ahok's rival, law professor Yusril Ihza Mahendra is looking to exploit.

But Cecep Hidayat of the University of Indonesia said on Saturday (30/04) the forced evictions will only decrease the governor's electability slightly. The drop “won't be significant,” he said on Saturday.

“Ahok can only have his chances [of getting reelected] ruined if, say, he is charged by law enforcers. If it is only limited to legal controversies it is hard to defeat Ahok.”

A study by think-tank Populi Center released last week showed that Ahok's electability actually increased from 49.5 percent in February to 50.8 percent this month — even after the controversial reclamation and evictions as well as Ahok's run ins with the Supreme Audit Agency over the purchase of a piece of land in West Jakarta from Sumber Waras hospital began to garner nationwide attention.

Meanwhile, Yusril come at a distant second with five percent, up from three percent in February.

Populi Center researcher Nona Evita said 73.7 percent of 400 Jakartans surveyed between April 15 to April 25 said they are satisfied with Ahok's performance as governor, paving the way for his unrivalled electability.

Although his electability is slowly rising, voters are still cautious about Yusril, who never held a full five-year term in the three times he was appointed a minister between 2001 and 2007, Toto Sugiarto of the Para Syndicate Institute said.

People perceived Yusril's move to side with victims of evictions as political and insincere.

“He did it solely because he wants to defeat his main rival Ahok and rally Jakartans' support for the 2017 election,” Toto said on Saturday (30/04) highlighting that Yusril is not exactly known as a champion of the poor.

“Jakartans are rational voters. They understand that Yusril is doing this for his own interest. If he is not, then where have he been all this time?”

Writing and Editing by Nivell Rayda