Indonesian newspaper Investor Daily reported that on Friday 9 May 2014 Joko Widodo, the presidential candidate of the PDI-P (winner of the April 2014 legislative election), will announce his running mate for the presidential election. According to the newspaper, Surya Paloh - founder of the NasDem party - said that the running mate (vice-presidential candidate) has already been agreed upon although he declined to mention a name. The PDI-P and NasDem formed a coalition last month in order to nominate a presidential candidate.

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Although Indonesia's benchmark stock index (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) fell immediately after its opening on Monday (28/04), the index is expected to strengthen this week as Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo will announce his running mate for the 2014 presidential election. Jokowi is the presidential nominee of the PDI-P party (the largest opposition party in the Indonesian parliament), which won the legislative election in April 2014 by securing about 19 percent of the popular vote.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) praised the Indonesian government's policy approach to safeguard the country's financial stability amid external shocks in 2013 and hopes that the new government, which will be inaugurated in October 2014, continues the economic reform agenda. Changyong Rhee, Director of the IMF's Asia Pacific Department, said that Indonesia - Southeast Asia's largest economy - is currently on the right track and forecast to grow 5.4 percent in 2014, slightly lower than the 5.78 percentage growth in 2013.

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On 13 April 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Due to the legislative election on Wednesday (09/04), this newsletter has a main focus on politics. Other topics include the benchmark interest rate, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, car & motorcycle sales, a profile of Astra International, and more.

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Investors were not happy to see the parliamentary election result of Indonesia on Wednesday (09/04). The fragmented outcome implies continued political uncertainty toward the July 2014 presidential election. None of the Indonesian political parties were able to secure a majority in the legislative election, meaning it will be more difficult to pursue a clear and steady political course over the next five years. The PDI-P, which was forecast to secure an impressive victory on the 'Jokowi effect', was unable to record a large victory.

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After the polling stations closed at 13:00 local time on Wednesday (09/04), the quick count for Indonesia's 2014 legislative election has started. Contrary to previous election years, the General Election Commission (KPU) will not release the official results of the election quickly. The official outcome of the 2014 parliamentary election is expected to be announced on 9 May 2014. Below, the preliminary results of the quick count are presented. These scores may still be updated as new data come in.

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Today (Wednesday 09/04), the people of Indonesia will choose their representatives for the national and regional legislative institutions. Polling stations have been open since 07:00 local time. Although there are about 190 million Indonesians who are eligible to vote (out of a total population of around 250 million), the turnout may be much lower. At stake are 560 seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), 132 seats in the Regional Consultative Council (DPD), and about 19,000 local government positions.

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Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will officially appoint Muhammad Lutfi as the new Trade Minister on Friday (14/02), thus replacing Gita Wirjawan who requested to step down as Trade Minister on 31 January 2014 in order to focus solely on his presidential bid. Muhammad Lutfi will only have eight months time to head the Trade Ministry because a new Indonesian government will be inaugurated in October (legislative and presidential elections are scheduled for April and July 2014).

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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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A countrywide survey conducted by the Indonesia Research Center (IRC) in late September 2013 ranked the PDI-P (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan) and the Golkar party on top of the poll ahead of the legislative elections that are scheduled for April 2014. In the survey, the PDI-P received 19.6 percent of the votes, while Golkar came in second with 16.3 percent. Both these parties have a long history in Indonesian politics and their popularity indicate that Indonesians seem to favour "old school" political parties.

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On Sunday 20 October 2024, Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated as Indonesia’s 8th president at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)/House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta in a ceremony that was witnessed by various well-known Indonesian political figures.

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For Indonesia August is typically a month in which politics are on the foreground as the country commemorates its Independence Day on each 17th of August. This is an important day in Indonesian history as well as an occasion for many festivities and celebrations around the country.

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On 28 March 2024 the House of Representatives (DPR) ratified the bill on the special status of Jakarta (in Indonesian: Rancangan Undang-Undang tentang Daerah Khusus Jakarta, RUU DKJ) in a plenary session. This bill was needed as a consequence of Law Number 21 of 2023 on the Amendments to Law Number 3 of 2022 on the National Capital (UU IKN).

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On 20 March 2024, the General Elections Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum or KPU) officially declared Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming the winning pair of the 2024 presidential election (that had taken place on 14 February 2024).

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On Wednesday 14 February 2024, a total of around 204.8 million Indonesian voters were allowed to choose the new president for the 2024-2029 period. And while not all people will take advantage of their right to vote (and there always is a number of invalid votes), we do expect more than 80 percent of that total to have shown up on Valentine’s Day.

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With Indonesia’s legislative and presidential elections approaching (on 14 February 2024), we plan to give an update on the elections each month. As we have repeatedly emphasized, these elections are crucial as incumbent President Joko Widodo cannot compete due to the two-term cap. And so, someone else will be behind the country’s political and economic steering wheel.

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It was interesting to read that the Ethics Council of Indonesia’s Constitutional Court decided to remove Anwar Usman from his post as Chief Justice (in early November 2023) after he apparently cast a deciding vote in favour of a controversial revision that allows his nephew-by-marriage, Gibran Rakabuming, to join the upcoming 2024 presidential election as one of the three vice-presidential candidates.

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There is quite some controversial material to discuss after the Constitutional Court of Indonesia (Mahkamah Konstitusi, or MK) paved the way for incumbent President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka (henceforth Gibran), to team up with Gerindra Chairman Prabowo Subianto in the presidential race.

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On 17 May 2023 the Attorney General’s Office of Indonesia officially named Johnny G. Plate, Minister of Communication and Information, a suspect in a corruption case that involves the construction of base transceivers stations across the Archipelago. Plate was also immediately arrested in Jakarta.

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We plan to give an update on Indonesia’s 2024 legislative and presidential elections each quarter because these elections are quite important for the future of Indonesia. As is widely known, incumbent President Joko Widodo cannot join this 2024 race because of the two-term limit, and so – after one decade in office – Indonesia will have a new president in 2024.

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