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Uncertainties loom as political contest heats up in 2023
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A General Elections Commission (KPU) officer introduces five different ballots for the 2019 presidential and legislative elections, at the KPU building in Central Jakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
I
ndonesia is bracing for a tumultuous political year in 2023 as parties gear up for the upcoming general elections next year, raising fears of heightened uncertainty that analysts say could derail the nation’s economic recovery.
Voters are expected to choose a new president in 2024, with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. Political parties, however, have until Nov. 25 to decide which candidates they will endorse to replace Jokowi, during which party elites are expected to engage in a political tug of war and horse-trading in their attempts to build alliances for the electoral contest.
Most parties in the ruling coalition have yet to nominate their presidential candidates, while those which have are still leaving the door open for changes.
The Gerindra Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) have officially nominated Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto as their presidential candidate, but it is unclear if the political alliance will last until the last day of presidential-election registration. Gerindra has left open the possibility of pairing Prabowo with non-PKB candidates.
The NasDem Party, meanwhile, has declared former Jakarta governor and opposition figure Anies Baswedan as its presidential nominee, a political move that may cost it several Cabinet seats. The party is now seeking to build an alliance with the opposition parties, the Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), to be able to field Anies, which is contingent on their choice of his running mate.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, the largest parties in the ruling coalition, have yet to announce their presidential nominees. They have expressed their intention to endorse either Prabowo, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo or House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani.
Intra-elite conflicts
