Prabowo-Sandi & Islam Politics
The Chairman of the 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212) Slamet Maarif, who is also the deputy head of the national campaign team of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno (Prabowo-Sandi), told the press that his side was preparing a reunion of the 212 Alumni to be held in the National Monument (Monas) Park, Central Jakarta. The number 212 refers to the December 2, 2016 anti-Ahok rally, one of the rallies staged by the hardline Muslim groups associated in the National Movement for Guarding the Indonesian Ulema Council Fatwa (GNPF-MUI). So it looks obvious that Prabowo-Sandi is still trying to keep Islam politics in play. But will it work this time?
Supervising the Election Supervisor (3)
The Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) has maintained their opinion that the advertisement that the national campaign team of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (TKN) placed in mass media is a violation of campaign rules. The Bawaslu remains...
People on the Move
Senior law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who is also the chairman of the Muslim-based Crescent Star Party (PBB), will serve as a legal adviser to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Amin) in the 2019 presidential election. Though it doesn’t mean that Yusril’s political party has given their endorsement to the incumbent, it remains a significant loss for Prabowo Subianto given that Yusril was his supporter since the 2014 race.
The Latest Electability Figures
The Alvara Research Center has released the results of the survey it conducted from October 8 to October 22. Alvara interviewed 1,781 respondents in 33 provinces. The results confirmed the findings of other polling agencies: Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Amin) are leaders of the race so far.
Ma’ruf Amin’s Campaign Trail
In early October 2018, the Saiful Mudjani Research Center published an analysis that the running mate of both Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Prabowo Subianto had not significantly helped increase their electability. Though the analysis came early in the game, it’s still important for both Jokowi and Prabowo to take note. Thankfully for Jokowi, Ma’ruf’s side appeared to have taken the analysis very seriously. Perhaps that is why we saw Ma’ruf campaigning over the course of October with a very packed schedule.
Banten for Jokowi?
On Saturday, November 3, 2018, hundreds of members of Relawan Banten Bersatu (RBB) held an event in the Maulana Yusuf Stadium, in the City of Serang, Banten. The group met to declare their commitment to fully support the campaign of presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Amin).
Law, Business & Politics
Opposition leader Amien Rais, who is also patron leader of National Mandate Party (PAN), failed to meet Agus Rahardjo, chief of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Monday, the day KPK supposedly explained its decision to ban Taufik Kurniawan, deputy House Speaker (DPR) and PAN politician, from overseas travel related to corruption investigation.
2019 Presidential Election: October 2018 Electability Figures
Polling agency LSI Denny JA have released the result of their latest electability survey. The results show good news for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate KH Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Ma’ruf). That being said, we’re still early in the game as the presidential campaign period will still go on until April 13 next year.
Why 2019 Is Still A Difficult Race for Prabowo (4)
The Secretary General of PAN Eddy Soeparno admitted that a number of their legislative candidates refuse to endorse Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno (Prabowo-Sandi). They have chosen to support President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (Jokowi-Ma’ruf) instead. Eddy also said that PAN was focused on campaigning for the legislative election rather than campaigning for Prabowo-Sandi. If true, this would be a huge blow for Prabowo-Sandi.
The Controversial Election Witness Fund
Political parties have stirred another controversy with their idea of asking the government to allocate a fund in the State budget (APBN) to help political parties pay for their respective election witnesses in the 2019 elections. This is not a new idea. Back in 2014, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) administration, with the backing of the majority of political parties, tried to push this idea forward, but after pervasive public protest, SBY canceled the plan.