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askST: What do I need to know about the Indonesian election and how it affects Singapore?

2024-01-30 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-亚洲原网页

JAKARTA – About 205 million Indonesians will head to the polls on Feb 14 to choose the country’s next president and vice-president.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of polling day in the world’s fourth-most populous nation:

Q: What is being decided in Indonesia on Feb 14?

A: In what has been called the world’s biggest election to be held in a day, millions of Indonesians will vote for their next president and vice-president.

Besides the presidential vote, the national parliamentary election will also take place on the same day, with the electorate choosing their executive and legislative representatives at all administrative levels across the nation.

About 205 million of Indonesia’s more than 270 million people are eligible to vote. And with just over half – or 106.4 million of the eligible voters – aged 17 to 40, the youth vote will play a significant role in this election.

Much attention has focused on the presidential race, as the country’s current leader, Mr Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, is finishing his second five-year term and is constitutionally barred from contesting again.

Q: Who is in the running?

A: Three pairs of candidates are vying for president and vice-president.

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The first pair consists of current front runner Prabowo Subianto, 72, the defence chief, who narrowly lost to Mr Widodo in 2014 and 2019, and Solo mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, Mr Widodo’s eldest son.

A controversial figure, Mr Prabowo has managed to sidestep past allegations of human rights abuses when he was special forces commander in the country’s armed forces over 20 years ago, and recent controversies surrounding his choice of running mate for the vice-presidency.

Former governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan, 54, who has also set his sights on the presidency, is running with former minister of manpower and transmigration Muhaimin Iskandar, 57, as vice-president.

Mr Anies, a former academic, is remembered by many for his adept handling of the situation in the capital during the Covid-19 pandemic, but some have criticised him for previously accepting the endorsement of hardline Islamist groups.

The third pair comprises ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle candidate and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, 55, and his running mate, Chief Security Minister Mahfud MD, 66.

Mr Ganjar, who has had a long career in public service, spent nearly a decade in the Indonesian House of Representatives before serving as governor for two terms.

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Q: How will a winner be decided?

A: Indonesian law states that a presidential candidate needs a simple majority – or more than 50 per cent – of the votes to win. They also need to attain 20 per cent of the votes in half of Indonesia’s 38 provinces.

If that does not happen, the top two candidates will enter a run-off vote in June, with the third pair eliminated.

Surveys in recent months indicate that none of the candidates is set to exceed the required minimum of half the votes, with the Prabowo-Gibran pair hovering around the mid-40 per cent mark.

The next president will take office in October 2024.