On Saturday 5 July 2014, the fifth presidential debate between the two presidential pairs took place. Candidates Prabowo Subianto (joined by running mate Hatta Rajasa) and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (joined by running mate Jusuf Kalla) faced off in the last debate. The theme of this debate was 'energy, food security and environment'. Sudharto P. Hadi, Professor of Sociology at the Diponegoro University in Semarang (Central Java) was the moderator. On Wednesday 9 July 2014, the Indonesian people will go to the ballot boxes to elect their next leader.

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Opinions about who won the vice-presidential debate, held on Sunday (29/06) in the Bidakara hotel (South Jakarta), were mostly mixed. However, when reading the Indonesian media on Monday morning there seems to be a preference for Hatta Rajasa’s performance (the running mate of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto). When watching the debate, it was clear that Rajasa is a much more rhetorically gifted speaker compared to his rival Jusuf Kalla (Joko Widodo’s running mate).

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This evening (Sunday 29 June 2014), the fourth presidential debate took place, organized in the Bidakara hotel in South Jakarta. However, it was not a debate between the two presidential candidates, Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, but between both vice presidential candidates: Jusuf Kalla (Jokowi’s running mate) and Hatta Rajasa (Subianto’s running mate). The theme of tonight's debate was development of human resources, science and technology in Indonesia.

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A survey conducted by Pusat Data Bersatu (PDB) shows that the Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo-Jusuf Kalla pair enjoys more popularity than the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair. Both teams compete to be elected as Indonesia’s new president and vice president by the people (on 9 July 2014). The result of the survey, which was conducted in seven cities, indicates that, if the election would be held today, Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla can rely on 32.2 percent of the vote, whereas the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa team received 26.5 percent of the vote.

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On Monday evening (09/06), the first debate between Indonesia’s two presidential candidates (joined by their running mates) was held and broadcast live on national television by various Indonesian television stations. This debate is the first in a series of five debates in which both teams - Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and Jusuf Kalla vs Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa - are able to share their vision and mission to the Indonesian electorate. The debate immediately became a trending topic on social media.

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With the presidential election of Indonesia (scheduled for 9 July) becoming a battle between Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, and former army general and Suharto crony Prabowo Subianto, it is worth taking a closer look into the ideas and policies that both candidates would like to implement if elected as the next Indonesian president, as well as their stance on specific economic issues. The viewpoints that are mentioned below are based on the documents that both parties provided to the General Election Commission.

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One day after the official announcement that two pairs will compete in the presidential election (9 July 2014), the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) and the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate are still in a state of decline. Although yesterday (19/05) the rupiah and IHSG strengthened considerably prior and shortly after Joko "Jokowi" Widodo declared that Jusuf Kalla would be his running mate (the vice-presidential candidate) in the election, markets have been selling Indonesian assets since Monday afternoon.

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After Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Jusuf Kalla announced earlier today (19/05) to form a pair in the upcoming Indonesian presidential election (scheduled for 9 July 2014), supported by a coalition consisting of the PDI-P, NasDem, PKB and Hanura, the other pair also presented itself. Prabowo Subianto officially announced that Hatta Rajasa will be his running mate in the election. This pair is backed by Gerindra, PAN, PPP, PKS and Golkar. At the last moment Golkar, second-largest party in the April legislative election, decided to join this coalition.

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In front of the Joang '45 Museum, which illustrates Indonesia's battle for independence, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (Governor of Jakarta) officially declared that Jusuf Kalla is his running mate (or the vice-presidential candidate) in the upcoming presidential election (scheduled for 9 July 2014). It had been speculated for weeks that Jusuf Kalla (former Indonesian Vice-President, businessman and philanthropist), would be Jokowi's running mate but it was only officially declared just after noon (local Jakarta time) on Monday (19/05).

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Although we are still waiting for the official announcement (which is expected to follow shortly), more and more signs are pointing towards the nomination of Jusuf Kalla as the running mate (or vice-presidential candidate) of Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo in the presidential election that is scheduled for 9 July 2014. The pair will have the full support of the PDI-P, NasDem, PKB and Hanura coalition. The chairmen of the NasDem (Surya Paloh) and PKB (Muhaimin Iskandar) have reportedly confirmed that Kalla will be the running mate.

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Throughout the year 2016 the economy of Indonesia was plagued by major challenges stemming from abroad. In fact, most countries around the globe have been busy to soften the impact of low global economic growth on the local economy. In the case of Indonesia, authorities have unveiled a series of 14 economic policy packages aimed at improving investment, trade and purchasing power. Although it remains difficult to implement these packages in full force (due to the low quality of human resources at the local government level or conflicts of interests), they have helped to push Indonesia's economic growth into higher gear.

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After Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla have confirmed that prices of subsidized fuels (gasoline and diesel) will be raised in November 2014 in an attempt to ease the country’s wide current account deficit and government budget deficit (which are primarily caused by costly oil imports), domestic car manufacturers and dealers are expected to post declining earnings in 2015. Besides the subsidized fuel price issue, Indonesia’s car industry is also negatively impacted by the country’s slowing economic growth.

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As had been predicted previously by various popularity surveys, the outcome of the Indonesian presidential election, a race between Joko Widodo (known as Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto, was close. In fact, after the unofficial yet reliable quick count results had been collected, both camps claimed a victory. However, the majority of the quick count results show a Jokowi victory with a margin of about five to six percentage points. On 22 July 2014, the Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU) will announce the official result.

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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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After a promising start of the day, the rupiah exchange rate and Indonesian stocks lost all of their earlier gains ahead of closing on Monday day (19/05). Around 10:00 local Jakarta time, the rupiah rate appreciated more than 0.60 percent to IDR 11,346 per US dollar on speculation that Jusuf Kalla would be nominated as Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's running mate in the presidential election (9 July 2014), backed by a coalition consisting of the PDI-P, NasDem, PKB and Hanura. After the official declaration, however, the currency lost all of its earlier gains.

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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 Indonesia’s next presidential election will be held in mid-2014, Aburizal Bakrie already announced in 2012 that he would run for the presidency on behalf of the Golkar party, one of the leading political parties of Indonesia and once the strong political vehicle of Suharto during the New Order regime (1965-1998). However, Bakrie, chairman of Golkar and often referred to by his nickname 'Ical', is one of the most controversial figures in modern Indonesian politics and business.

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