The Mayor of Solo Gibran Rakabuming Raka was reluctant to comment on the ongoing judicial review at the Constitutional Court (MK) that aims to change the age limit of presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Gibran, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, stated that he just wants to focus on his job in Solo.

The Chairman of Golkar Party Airlangga Hartarto, who is also the coordinating minister for economy, stated that Golkar won’t support Anies Baswedan in the next year’s presidential election. Airlangga’s statement was a response to former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, also known as former Golkar chairman and a big supporter of Anies. 

The administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, is selecting the candidates to replace 17 governors and 153 mayors/regents that will soon end their term this year. Among the governors that will end their term next month are Ridwan Kamil (West Java) and Ganjar Pranowo (Central Java), while Khofifah Indar Parawansa (East Java) will end her term in December 2023. These changes of regional leaderships are truly worth highlighting with the election year approaching.

Chairman of Golkar Party Airlangga Hartarto recently held a consolidation meeting with all of the Party’s provincial leaders in Bali over the weekend. The meeting is worth highlighting in the midst of pressures on Airlangga. Can Airlangga maintain his position at the helm of Golkar? Will Airlangga make the right call regarding the next year’s presidential election?

The LSI Denny JA released its latest electability survey in which the pollster found Prabowo Subianto leading the poll with a significant margin above Ganjar Pranowo in a head-to-head simulation. LSI Denny JA, moreover, revealed that Prabowo led the poll in West Java, Banten, and surprisingly, East Java.

The polemic continues surrounding the legal status of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) Chief Vice Air Marshall Henri Alfiandi. Henri was earlier named as graft suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), but KPK later apologized and handed over Henri’s case to the National Military Police (Puspom TNI). The handling of this case, if anything, could be a crucial test for the Military Commander (Panglima TNI) Admiral Yudo Margono, who will soon end his term.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, a presidential hopeful from the ruling party PDIP, received support from 273 retired high-ranking military and police (TNI/POLRI) officers in an event held in Jakarta on Sunday (July 30). The former Military Commander (Panglima TNI) General (et) Andika Perkasa, who has been mentioned as one of the potential candidates for becoming Ganjar’s running mate, accompanied the Governor in the event. On the same day, Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto, also known as the chairman of Gerindra Party, secured the endorsement from the Crescent Star Party (PBB), a small Islamic party led by the famous lawyer and former minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

Puan Maharani, the daughter of PDIP Chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, had a packed schedule yesterday (July 27). She met with Airlangga Hartarto, the chairman of Golkar Party, and Muhaimin Iskandar, the chairman of PKB, in two different places. Will Golkar and PKB join forces with PDIP in the next year’s presidential election?