No Indonesian political party managed to secure a majority in the legislative election that was held on Wednesday (09/04). Based on various quick counts (that have proved to be reliable in previous elections), the election was won by the PDI-P (19 percent), followed by Golkar (15 percent) and Gerindra (12 percent). This outcome implies that political parties will need to form coalitions in order to be able to nominate a presidential candidate for Indonesia's presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014.

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According to a survey from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), 45.8 percent of the Indonesian electorate have still not decided which party or which presidential candidate to back in the legislative election (9 April 2014) and presidential election (9 July 2014). About 42.4 percent of the electorate knows who they will vote for, while 11.8 percent could not answer. These indications are based on a survey that involved interviews with 1,200 people in 33 provinces between 7-17 March 2014 (with a 2.83 percent margin of error).

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The latest survey of research institute Charta Politika Indonesia indicates that only three Indonesian political parties can rely on enough popular support to win the legislative election that will be held on 9 April 2014. These three parties are PDI Perjuangan (PDI-P), Golkar and Gerindra. Other parties will not have a chance to win the election based on the survey that was conducted in March 2014. Results of the March survey confirmed that these three parties' popularity grew markedly from the institute's December 2013 survey.

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Indonesia's Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan announced on Friday (31/01) that he resigned - with immediate effect - from the cabinet in order to focus on his ambition to become the next president of Indonesia in the 2014 presidential election, scheduled for 9 July. Wirjawan aims to be selected as presidential candidate in the Democratic Party’s presidential convention. The Democratic Party (PD), the political vehicle of current President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was the largest party at the 2009 elections but has since lost popularity.

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Senior economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Didier Damanhuri, believes that Indonesia’s two presidential candidates - Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto - are both similar in economic approach as both men are primarily focused on high gross domestic product (GDP) growth as the measurement for economic development, while, in fact, many countries that only focus on GDP growth show a high degree of economic inequality.

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Sunday evening (15/06), the second debate between Indonesia’s two presidential candidates - Prabowo Subianto and Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo - was held. This debate was broadcast live on various Indonesian television stations and - once again - managed to become a trending topic on social media. The debate, the theme of which was ‘development of the economy and social welfare‘, was characterized by a nationalistic and protectionist tone. This tone had already been set by Subianto in the past weeks but now Jokowi also stressed protectionism.

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As the market already expected that Indonesia’s benchmark interest rate (BI rate) would be kept at 7.50 percent in June 2014, the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate did not undergo any significant fluctuations on Friday’s trading day. Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the currency had depreciated 0.05 percent to IDR 11,796 per US dollar by 16:25pm local Jakarta time. The US dollar had to cope with some pressures due to US retail sales (rising only +0.3 percent in May 2014) and weaker US jobless claims data.

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Just as unexpected as yesterday when the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) fell 1.06 percent amid positive domestic and international circumstances, the IHSG made a surprise rebound on Tuesday’s trading day. Yesterday’s fall was exorbitant and unfounded and today market participants made up for that performance by accumulating stocks that had lost value. As a result the IHSG gained 1.25 percent to 4,946.09 points on Tuesday (10/06).

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Contrary to most Asian stock indices which were positively influenced by Japan’s higher economic growth as well as rising indices on Wall Street last Friday (06/06), the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) fell considerably on Monday (09/06). Not even the appreciating Indonesian rupiah exchange rate could push the index back into the green zone. At the end of Monday’s trading day, the Jakarta Composite Index declined 1.06 percent to 4,885.08 points.

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The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate appreciated 0.25 percent to IDR 11,860 per US dollar according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index on Thursday (05/06). However, this is not expected to be the start of an appreciating trend for the currency as there are still various domestic and international factors that place pressure on the rupiah. Contrary to the Bloomberg Index, Bank Indonesia's benchmark rupiah rate (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, abbreviated JISDOR) depreciated 0.54 percent to IDR 11,874 against the US dollar today.

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On the last trading day of the week, the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index of IHSG) rose 0.06 percent to the level of 4,973.06 points. Trading volume was low as investors are still carefully monitoring political and economic developments in Indonesia. Earlier in the week, political uncertainty increased when the country's second-largest political party (Golkar) decided to join the coalition that supports the Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa pair in the July presidential election.

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It had been speculated for a while, but yesterday the official declaration of Indonesia's presidential candidates and their running mates (the vice-presidential candidates) were presented. In the upcoming election, scheduled for 9 July 2014, Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo will face Prabowo Subianto, former army general and former son-in-law to president Suharto (Indonesia's second president), in a battle for the country's presidential seat. What is there to tell about this battle?

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Similar to when the market expects the release of positive companies' corporate earnings reports, the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) gained significantly at the start of today's trading day (19/05) as the market waited for the official declarations of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates that will participate in the presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014. The two pairs that will compete are the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla pair and the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair.

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Joko Widodo, the presidential candidate of the PDI-P (Indonesia's current largest opposition party and which won the 2014 legislative election last April) may announce his running mate (the vice presidential candidate) on Wednesday (14/05). Newsportal Bisnis.com reported that Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, hinted at this during a brief conversation between Jokowi and journalists on Monday. Names that are frequently mentioned in connection to the position of running mate of Jokowi are Jusuf Kalla and Abraham Samad.

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