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t is only the third day of February and more than a year away from the 2014 legislative elections. Yet, a series of high-profile events in the past week have sent a clear picture as if the five-yearly political event is already in sight.

At least three incidents throughout the past week conspicuously exhibited the heated political climate in the country. One of them was the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK) declaration on Wednesday that Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq had been named a suspect for his alleged involvement in a bribery case centering on the government’s procurement of imported meat.

Luthfi was detained on Thursday, making him the first active leader of a political party ever held on criminal charges. Moments after KPK investigators wrapped up their questioning, Luthfi announced that he had resigned from his position as PKS chairman. PKS named House of Representatives member Anis Matta its new leader on Friday.

KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said Luthfi and his aide, Ahmad Fathanah, were accused of accepting Rp 1 billion (US$103,000) in bribes from Juard Effendi and Aria Abdi Effendi, executives of meat importing company PT Indoguna Utama. The bribe was allegedly paid in exchange for a slot in the 2013 government-run beef importation program overseen by the Agriculture Ministry.

A number of senior PKS officials jumped to the defense of Luthfi, blasting the allegations against him as part of a systematic smear campaign against the party and its politicians ahead of the 2014 elections.

The second incident was the alleged discrepancies in the tax returns of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s family as reported in the media. Numerous questions have arisen over the mismatch between the first family’s wealth and their annual earnings, based on the tax returns of Yudhoyono and his two sons, Maj. Agus Harimurti and Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro.

Taxation director general Fuad Rahmany, upon the request from the President, said in a written statement on Wednesday that the President and his two sons had met the required taxation administration procedures and had complied with the existing law and regulations. He also insisted that original tax returns were classified documents and the property of the directorate general and the taxpayer in question.

The third incident was the arrests of Wanda Hamidah and Raffi Ahmad; respectively, a National Mandate Party (PAN) politician and a prospective legislative candidate for the party, following a drug raid at the latter’s residence in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, early last Sunday. They were among 17 people netted in the raid.

Wanda was released on Wednesday after she tested negative for drugs and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) found no evidence with which to charge her. But the agency is still detaining Raffi, a popular television personality, after he tested positive for methylone and was subsequently charged on Friday.

Though Wanda escaped charges and Raffi is not yet officially part of PAN, the case has seriously affected the image of the party, which is still reeling from the car crash involving its chairman’s son. In another signs of a boiling political climate ahead of the 2014 election the country’s security authorities released two inter-connected operational guidelines for security apparatuses in anticipating and taking effective measures against the continuing incidents of communal conflicts last week.

On Monday, Yudhoyono issued Presidential Instruction No. 2/2013, a new regulation aimed at better coordinating efforts to handle communal and social disputes. The instruction strengthens communication between the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, home minister, attorney general, chief of police, National Intelligence Agency head, National Counterterrorism Agency head and local leaders to effectively handle security problems.