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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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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According to a new survey, the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat), the political vehicle of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, is increasingly losing popular support. The survey indicates that currently only 7.1 percent of respondents will vote for the Democratic Party in next year's legislative elections. The survey was conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and involved 1,635 respondents from 31 provinces. In combination with results of earlier surveys in the last 12 months, it shows declining support for the party.

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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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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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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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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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The government of Indonesia agreed with the House Budget Committee to adjust the economic growth target of Southeast Asia’s largest economy in 2015 to 5.8 percent, 0.2 percentage point up from the initial growth target proposed by the government in the Financial Memorandum as well as the 2015 State Budget Draft (APBN). Still, the 5.8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth target constitutes the lowest growth target set in Indonesia’s state budget (excluding revised state budgets) since the year 2010.

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Recent elections in Indonesia have met with a great deal of attention and look to be a decisive moment for the country. We are looking at a country that has major financial problems and also is making a decision about the direction of its democracy. Prabowo Subianto has pledged to conduct a rollback in some of the aspects of Indonesia’s democracy. So the supporters of Indonesian democracy will be watching very closely to see how the recent election events will unfold.

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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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The week ended well for both the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate and the benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG). Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the rupiah appreciated 0.30 percent to IDR 11,413 per US dollar at the end of Friday's trading day (16/05). Meanwhile, the IHSG surged 0.80 percent to finish just above the psychological level of 5,000 points. The good performance was supported by investors' positive response towards the latest political developments in Indonesia.

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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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The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate extends its depreciation on Friday (11/04) after market participants showed their concern about Indonesia's legislative election result on Wednesday (09/04). As the election did not result in a clear victory for the PDI-P (the main opposition party which intends to nominate popular Jakarta Governor Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo as presidential candidate), the fragmented outcome is expected to lead to continued political uncertainty ahead of Indonesia's presidential election on 9 July 2014.

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