Welcome to World Brief. IndonesiaUpcoming elections, ceasefire negotiations israel-hamas war, and Russiacriminal charges against estoniaPrime Minister of
Welcome to World Brief. IndonesiaUpcoming elections, ceasefire negotiations israel-hamas war, and Russiacriminal charges against estoniaPrime Minister of
Who will replace Jokowi?
Indonesia will hold the world's largest one-day democratic presidential and parliamentary elections on Wednesday. Six million election officials will oversee more than 205 million voters across thousands of islands. About 10,000 candidates from 18 political parties are vying for seats in the country's 580-seat parliament. And for the first time in 15 years, three presidential candidates are running for the nation's highest office.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto of the Gerindra party is leading in opinion polls. Prabowo, a former rival of outgoing President Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi), is now touting himself as a possible successor. Jokowi appears to favor Prabowo over his own party's choice, former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, and critics and many analysts believe that Jokowi's influence will continue to grow even after the election. This is seen as part of ongoing efforts to achieve this goal. The president's eldest son is Prabowo's running mate.
Prabowo is best known as the son-in-law of Indonesia's former military dictator Suharto, who was ousted in 1998. Prabowo served as a lieutenant general under Suharto and is accused of committing atrocities during his time in the military. These include his role in the US-backed invasion of East Timor and ordering the abduction of more than 20 pro-democracy student activists in 1998, 13 of whom have never been found. (Mr. Prabowo denies wrongdoing.) But his wildly popular social media campaign, awkward dance performances and apparent support from Jokowi have recast his candidacy as the “cute grandpa.” I'm trying to configure it. But experts and human rights activists fear that Mr. Prabowo, who has said the country needs an authoritarian leader, will continue to undermine the country's democratic institutions in the same way that Mr. Jokowi did. expressing concern.
Meanwhile, despite being the leading candidate for the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Ganjar's approval rating remains at just 20% in public opinion polls. He has been described as a “Jokowi lite,” pledging to continue most of Jokowi's policies, with some changes, and to maintain the country's annual GDP growth rate of 5%. “We want to develop Indonesia faster, continue the good things that the current government has done, fix what is not good enough and leave behind what is bad,” Ganjar said. Indonesia is the world's sixth largest emerging market.
Independent candidate Anies Baswedan served as the governor of Jakarta until the end of 2022, after serving as the rector of the Islamic University, during which time he improved Jakarta's public transportation system and oversaw the capital's response to the coronavirus pandemic. He has repeatedly criticized Jokowi's efforts to move the capital from Jakarta to another island, saying there will be no economic return and blaming what he calls a resurgence of nepotism.
All three candidates have worked hard to win the support of young voters under 40, who make up Indonesia's largest voting bloc.
This is only the fifth democratic election in Indonesia since the ouster of President Suharto. “Democracy is a young, precious, but imperfect institution in Indonesia,” writes FP's Alison Meakem. As the world's third largest democracy, a major player in the Indo-Pacific, a major nickel producer, and the world's largest Muslim population, Indonesia is positioned to become one of the world's most influential decision makers. be.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote on Wednesday, the top two politicians will compete in a June 26 runoff.
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