Project M/Ricky Yudhistira
Late last month, for the first time its history, Indonesia held simultaneous regional elections across 545 provinces, regencies and municipalities across the country.
Across 6000 ballot stations, and 1553 contesting candidates, there were upsets in key regions, like Central Java where the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) lost its provincial stronghold, and Jakarta, where the PDIP’s underdog candidate, Pramono Anung, took the governorship from the ruling coalition’s favourite, Ridwan Kamil.
But elsewhere, candidates backed by Prabowo and his ruling Onward Indonesia Coalition (Koalisi Indonesia Maju, KIM) handily won the election. This include Dedi Mulyani for governor of West Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa in East Java, Bobby Nasution in North Sumatra and former “rose team” officer of the Army’s Special Forces Command (Kopassus), Yulius Selvanas, in North Sulawesi. In South Kalimantan, the candidate backed by mining magnate and political powerbroker Haji Isem, also took office.
Our avid listeners will remember my colleague Dr Ian Wilson, Senior lecturer in Politics, Terrorism and Counterterrorism at Murdoch University. Ian came on Talking Indonesia in December last year to discuss how the Jokowi government was reshaping the field of political contestation for the 2024 regional elections. In this week’s episode, Dr Jacqui Baker chats with him to assess what the regional elections round up tells us about how power is being reorganised in Indonesia today.
In 2024, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales and Tito Ambyo from RMIT.
