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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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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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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The local elections that are held tomorrow (Wednesday 27 June 2018) are regarded a run-up to Indonesia's 2019 legislative and presidential elections. Tomorrow's results are a barometer to measure the political mood in the country with regard to next year's elections. After all, residents in the nation's four most populous provinces - West Java, East Java, Central Java, and North Sumatra - will visit the ballot boxes to vote for new governors. In total, 17 governors, 39 mayors and 115 regents will be elected across Indonesia on Wednesday.

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One of Indonesia's largest listed property developers - Agung Podomoro Land - saw its shares plunge 10 percent on Monday (04/04) after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the country's anti-graft agency, named the company's President Director Ariesman Widjaja a suspect in a bribery case that also involves a Jakarta legislator. Allegedly, Muhammad Sanusi, legislator of the Jakarta provincial assembly and member of Prabowo Subianto's Great Indonesia Party (Gerindra), accepted money in exchange for support related to the Pluit City project.

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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (better known as Ahok) has been inaugurated as the 17th Governor of Jakarta by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday (19/11) The position of Jakarta Governor was previously empty as former Governor Widodo stepped down from this position to focus on a (successful) presidential campaign. Although by law the Deputy Governor (Ahok) automatically becomes the new Governor, this has met fierce resistance from certain sides as Ahok is an ethnic Chinese Christian. This news article is the updated version of an article that was first published on 18 November 2014

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More and more concerns have arisen recently regarding the democratic future of Indonesia. In fact, some media have reported that an impeachment of president-elect Joko Widodo, who will assume office on 20 October 2014, could become a reality as opposition in parliament - led by controversial and vindictive former army general Prabowo Subianto - is large. The Merah-Putih coalition, referring to the coalition of political parties that supported Subianto in the presidential election (which he narrowly lost to Widodo) will control 353 of the 560 seats in parliament.

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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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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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Although several quick counts of today's legislative election in Indonesia still continue, the big picture is clear. The current opposition party PDI-P will win Indonesia's 2014 parliamentary election, followed by Golkar and Gerindra. This is no surprise as most surveys that were released ahead of the election indicated that these three political parties would be the major contenders. As a whole, the election went relatively smoothly, with only a few minor incidents. The official result will be announced on 9 May 2014.

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On Wednesday 9 April 2014, the Indonesian electorate (consisting of about 190 million people out of a total population of around 250 million) will vote for both the country's national and regional legislatures. This legislative election also bears a big influence on the presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014 as a minimum of 25 percent of the popular vote in the legislative election (or 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives, DPR) gives a party the authority to nominate a presidential candidate.

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Yesterday Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI), a leading Indonesian public opinion research institute, published the result of a survey that indicated Megawati Soekarnoputri is leading the poll to become the country's next president in 2014. In the survey she is closely followed by Aburizal Bakrie and Prabowo Subianto. This preliminary result can be regarded negative as these names are 'products' of the old regime and thus will not support further democratization.

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