Parliamentary Threshold Battle
Political parties in the House of Representatives (DPR) continue to debate over the parliamentary threshold in the amendment of the Election Law No. 7/2017. At the heart of the debate is the idea of major political parties to increase the threshold.
No Retirement for Prabowo
Soon, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto will be re-elected chairman of the Gerindra Party, the third largest political party in Indonesia. We expect to see the outcome in Gerindra’s chairmanship congress to be held this year. The signal of Prabowo’s reelection is quite clear with the Party’s provincial chapters (DPD I) unanimously asking him to continue leading the Party for five more years.
A Test of Sandiaga’s Loyalty
The Chairman of the Gerindra Party Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto is likely to continue leading the Party for another five years. So he may again run for the presidency in 2024. It will be interesting to see how this will affect Sandiaga Uno. The deputy chairman of Gerindra’s Advisory Council (and former running mate of Prabowo in 2019) previously expressed his interest to become chairman of Gerindra. Will Sandiaga remain loyal to Prabowo?
Bobby & PDIP’s Dilemma in the Medan City Election
Bobby Afif Nasution, the son-in-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, is the only mayor candidate that has already secured a ticket to run in the 2020 Medan City so far. Bobby, however, isn’t the only one seeking to enter the race. His fellow PDIP politician Ahkyar Nasution, who is now an acting mayor of Medan, is keen to enter the contest.
North Sulawesi: the Battle of Jokowi’s Coalition
The 2020 gubernatorial election in North Sulawesi province will be a battle between the members of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s ruling coalition. The Golkar Party and the Nasdem Party are preparing their respective candidates to challenge the incumbent Governor Olly Dondokambey, who is also the treasurer of the ruling party PDIP.
Ticket to Surakarta 1 for Gibran?
Achmad Purnomo, who is a PDIP politician and vice mayor of Surakarta, has withdrawn his mayoral bid. So the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the only nominee left from the ruling party PDIP. Gibran is therefore likely to secure the nomination as PDIP’s mayor candidate in the 2020 Surakarta city election.
Jokowi, Islam Politics, and the New Normal
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo met with eight inter-religious leaders at the State Palace Jakarta on Tuesday (June 2). They discussed the Government’s mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its plan to implement the new normal policy. Among the said religious leaders were members of the PP Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia that has been actively criticizing the President.
The Narratives Against Jokowi
The legal advocacy group from Muhammadiyah called Mahutama recently held a virtual discussion about freedom of speech and presidential impeachment in the COVID-19 outbreak. Some may question the motive of Muhammadiyah, especially knowing that its members have been actively criticizing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.
The Democratic Party-PKS Axis
The Democratic Party and the Islamic party PKS maintains its alliance in the regions. The two parties recently agreed to endorse Siti Nur Azizah, the daughter of Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, who is running for mayor of Tangerang Selatan, and Denny Indrayana, a former vice minister of law & human rights, who is running for governor of South Kalimantan.
Denny Indrayana & South Kalimantan Gubernatorial Race (2)
The Government and the House of Representatives (DPR) agreed to hold the 2020 simultaneous regional elections on December 9, 2020. Political parties and the aspiring candidates are thus busy preparing for the contest. The former Vice Minister of Law & Human Rights under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) administration Denny Indrayana, for example, has obtained the endorsement of the Democratic Party to run as a governor candidate of the South Kalimantan province, home to major coal and palm oil producers.