The first debate of the 2024 presidential election held last night (Dec. 12) at the office of the General Election Commission (KPU) is over. Pretty much as predicted, the tension was high between Prabowo Subianto and his two contenders, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo. Each presidential camp, of course, claimed that they won the debate, but the biggest question is whether the debate will affect the voters and change the electability of the three presidential candidates.

The student activists from BEM UGM, the Student Executive Body of the Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University (UGM), named President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as the most embarrassing alumnus of UGM. This harsh criticism is worth highlighting because it is given by the student...

Litbang Kompas, the research division of Kompas, the largest newspaper in Indonesia, found that the electability of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), a small political party led by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, remained...

Looks like that Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabumi Raka will easily win next February’s election. A survey from Litbang Kompas, which is considered respected for its relatively independent position, found a big margin over Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD.

Tomorrow night on Dec. 12, the three presidential candidates will engage in the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential election. This first debate will be held at the office of the General Election Commission (KPU) in Menteng, Central Jakarta. Who will shine in the first debate, and can it help them boost their electability?

Litbang Kompas, the research division of Kompas, the largest newspaper in Indonesia, released the result of its latest electability survey in which the pollster found Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka leading the race with significant margin above their two contenders. Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD, meanwhile, dropped into the bottom. Two other pollsters, Indikator and LSI, also showed Prabowo-Gibran’s lead.

Scrolling down some Jakarta streets this morning, we found some posters from lawmaker candidates and political parties with far-fetched promises. One lawmaker candidate from new party Gelora, member of Prabowo-Gibran’s campaign, for example, pledges ‘Gelora wins = free meat and eggs for pregnant women’. 

It looks like Ganjar Pranowo, a presidential candidate from the ruling party PDIP, changed his strategy from being offensive toward President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to becoming more cooperative. Recently, on Thursday (Dec. 7), Ganjar visited the new capital city (IKN) Nusantara in East Kalimantan, where he ensured his commitment to continue the development of the new capital city, which is the legacy of President Jokowi.

Amien Rais and other figures, who associate themselves in the so-called Petisi 100 or the Petition 100, urge the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People Consultative Assembly (MPR) to impeach President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. This Group has been petitioning for Jokowi’s impeachment since July 2023, and now they find a momentum to launch a new attempt after what happened at the Constitutional Court (MK). Jokowi himself has survived from so many impeachment attempts since 2014. Will the President survive again this time?

Some advocates, who associate themselves with the so-called Tim Pembela Demokrasi Indonesia (TPDI) or the Indonesian Democracy Defense Team and the so-called Perekat Nusantara, sent a subpoena to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. These advocates, especially those from TPDI, are not nobody. Historically speaking, TPDI is strongly affiliated to Megawati Soekarnoputri, the matriarch of the ruling party PDIP.