Politics

PDIP cancelled the announcement of Anies Baswedan as governor candidate for this year’s gubernatorial election in Jakarta. Anies was actually present at the PDIP’s headquarters in Menteng, Central Jakarta on Monday (Aug. 26) when PDIP announced six more governor candidates from the Party for the 2024 simultaneous regional elections.

PDIP, the largest political party, is set to announce nomination of Anies Baswedan as candidate for Jakarta governor today. After weeks of intensive discussions, the party, which can now enter the race without necessarily establishing coalition with other parties thanks to the new ruling from the Constitutional Court (MK), has reportedly decided to back Anies few hours ago.

The House of Representatives’ plan to annul the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) has prompted public backlash. On August 22, many protesters flocked to the streets in several major cities in Indonesia to demand justice. The protest is considered the largest in five years.

President-elect Prabowo Subianto denied a rumor of frictions in his relationship with the outgoing President Jokowi. Prabowo, who is also the Minister of Defense and the chairman of Gerindra Party, reminds everyone to stop trying to pit him against Jokowi.

Pretty much as we’ve predicted in a previous article, Muhaimin Iskandar has been reelected as the chairman of PKB, the largest Islamic party in the country that is strongly affiliated to the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), in the Party’s Muktamar (chairmanship congress) held over the weekend. Meanwhile, Vice President (VP) Ma’ruf Amin, who is known as Muhaimin’s political ally, has been appointed as the chairman of the PKB’s Syuro Council. However, it’s worth noting that both the outgoing President Jokowi and President-elect Prabowo Subianto didn’t attend the congress.

Enough is enough! That’s what happened on Thursday (Aug 23) when students, activists, civil society leaders, university professors, celebrities/influencers, and ordinary citizens staged protests in major cities. They were all fed up with manoeuvres from political elites led by outgoing president Jokowi and president elect Prabowo to sabotage regional elections.

The Minister of Villages Abdul Halim Iskandar, who is the older brother of PKB Chairman Muhaimin Iskandar, was questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Thursday (Aug. 22) for a bribery case in East Java. The KPK’s investigation into Abdul Halim is worth highlighting with the Muktamar (chairmanship congress) of PKB already on the horizon. The Muktamar PKB, in which Muhaimin is seeking for his re-election, will be opened tomorrow (Aug. 24) in Bali.

Bahlil Lahadalia, the new chairman of Golkar Party, has announced the new lineup of the Golkar’s Central Board (DPP) for 2024-2029 period on Thursday (Aug. 22). However, the outgoing President Jokowi and his eldest son, Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, are not among the lineup announced by Bahlil.

Somehow, the hullabaloo surrounding the regional election rules occurred just hours after Bahlil Lahadalia was confirmed new chairman of Golkar Party, presumably with strong support from outgoing president Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo. It was just days after Supratman Agats, a politician from president elect Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra, appointed as minister of law and human rights affairs.

Megawati Soekarnoputri, matriarch of PDIP, the largest political party in the country, is set to announce 169 candidates to compete in election for regional leaders this afternoon. PDIP said the party will ignore the ongoing process at the House of Representatives (DPR), and opts to implement the recent ruling from the Constitutional Court (MK) instead.