The ruling party PDIP is expected to announce its regional head candidates in the 2020 simultaneous regional elections on July 17. In the meantime, PDIP has agreed with Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party to form a coalition and endorse Soerya Respationo and his running mate Iman Sutiawan in the gubernatorial election of Riau Islands, home to the country’s shipyards, offshore support services, electronics and ICT industry.

The Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Zulkifli Hasan asked the Muhammadiyah to openly, fully support the Party both in the regional and national elections. Zulkifli’s statement is interesting given the internal conflict currently raging in PAN. The Party’s founder Amien Rais is preparing to establish a new political party.

The ruling party PDIP is expected to announce its regional head candidates for the 2020 simultaneous regional elections this week. The Party recently confirmed its endorsement of Rahayu Saraswati Dhirakanya Djojohadikusumo (otherwise referred to as Saras) to run in the city election of Tangerang Selatan, Banten. Saras is the daughter of Hashim Djojohadikusumo and the niece of Prabowo Subianto, the chairman of Gerindra Party and now minister of defense. Is this a step towards a coalition of PDIP and Gerindra in 2024?

The Chairman of Democratic Party Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) is on the move. AHY, who is also the eldest son of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), met with the Chairman of PKB Muhaimin Iskandar. Prior to that, AHY met with the Chairman of Golkar Party Airlangga Hartarto. Both Golkar and PKB are part of the ruling coalition of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. 

A press release from the United States’ (US) Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) noted the US Department of State approval of the possible sale of 8 units of the Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey Block C tilt-rotor multirole combat aircrafts and related equipment to Indonesia for an estimated cost of US$2 billion. Indonesian media outlets widely reported on the said press release. The Indonesian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that it had indeed planned to buy such multirole combat aircrafts but had not decided on the type and the brand, thus denying that a deal with the US had been made.

Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who is also former chairman of Golkar Party, accompanied the Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan in the inauguration of the Amir Hamzah mosque at the iconic Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts and cultural center. Four days later, on Monday (July 7), Kalla gave a speech in a virtual discussion organized by the LSPR Communication & Business Institute (a new name of the Jakarta-based London School of Public Relations) about leadership and COVID-19 pandemic. 

Maman Imanulhaq, a politician from the Islamic party PKB publicly mentioned two ministers that he believed should be replaced in the event of a cabinet reshuffle. He also mentioned another minister that he thought had performed poorly. PKB is a political party led by Muhaimin Iskandar. The Party is strongly affiliated with the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in the country, and member of Jokowi’s ruling coalition. 

The Chairman of the Golkar Party Airlangga Hartarto met with the Chairman of Gerindra Party Prabowo Subianto at the latter’s residence. They discussed a coalition between the two political parties in the 2020 simultaneous regional elections and more.