Indonesia’s election commission has confirmed Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto as the nation’s next president, affirming the unofficial counts that showed the defense minister scoring a landslide victory over his two rivals The former special forces commander won the February 14 contest with more than 58 percent of the nationwide vote and is also believed to … Read more
Yesterday, Indonesian presidential candidate Anies Baswedan announced that he will file a case at the country’s Constitutional Court contesting the results of last month’s election. Speaking with reporters yesterday, the former Jakarta governor repeated his past criticisms that the state had not been neutral in the February 14 election, which saw him come in second … Read more
Indonesia’s ruling party has raised concerns about the conduct of this month’s presidential election, and says it will seek official investigations into alleged violations of election laws. In comments given to Reuters, Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said that the party is seeking a parliamentary investigation of … Read more
The two losing Indonesian presidential candidates have called for a formal inquiry into the conduct of last week’s election, which was won in a resounding fashion by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto. This week, both Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan have expressed concerns that the February 14 election was marred by widespread irregularities, including vote-buying and … Read more
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto held a commanding lead in early, unofficial tallies of Indonesia’s presidential race Wednesday, potentially putting the former general on a path to claim victory in a three-way race to lead the world’s third-largest democracy. The 72-year-old candidate is a link to the brutal period of dictatorship that ended just over 25 … Read more
Indonesia is a nation on the rise. Already the fourth-largest country by population, it was identified by Foreign Policy last year as one of six swing states that will decide the future of global politics, and its economy is projected to become the world’s sixth-largest by 2027. Long derided as punching below its weight on … Read more
Tens of thousands turned out for election rallies over the weekend, as the three presidential hopefuls made their last pitches to the electorate ahead of this week’s election. The large rallies in Jakarta and Central Java on Saturday marked the end of the official campaigning period for the February 14 election, when around 200 million … Read more
Seventeen-year-old Naima Khairiya Ismah started being bombarded by social media posts from candidates for Indonesia’s presidential election on before she’d even given voting any thought. As three candidates vie to replace popular but term-limited President Joko Widodo in an election later this month, they’ve been aggressively seeking millennials and Gen Z voters. People between the … Read more
Around 9:30 p.m., during a campaign stop in Malang, East Java, the dancers began to be possessed by bull spirits. Islamic prayers were recited to open the ceremony. Then music blared from speakers, whips cracked, and incense was heavy in the air as the participants in the bantengan, pairs draped in cloth like a pantomime … Read more
On February 14, nearly 200 million people are expected to vote in Indonesia’s presidential election. Considering that Indonesia is the world’s third-largest democracy, fourth-largest nation by population, and largest Muslim-majority nation, this is a significant affair. While Indonesia has arguably punched below its weight in terms of shaping the region’s maritime interactions in recent years, … Read more