Today, the Indonesian people decide who will become the next president of the world’s largest archipelago for the period 2014-2019. The Indonesian electorate numbers about 185.6 million (out a total population of 250 million) and they have only two options to choose from: Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto, which also implies that the election will only require one round. Voting starts at 07:00 am local time and the ballot boxes close at 13:00 pm local time. Indonesian financial markets are closed.

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Wednesday 9 July 2014, is a big day for Indonesia as on that day the Indonesian people will vote for the successor of incumbent Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who had been given the mandate to lead two five-year presidential terms between 2004 and 2014 (and who is the only president in the era of Reformasi that was re-elected by the people). Now, the people have to choose between Joko Widodo (Jokowi), joined by running mate Jusuf Kalla, and Prabowo Subianto, who is joined by running mate Hatta Rajasa.

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After having seen his lead over rival Prabowo Subianto narrow considerably in recent months, the latest survey released by the Indonesia Survey Circle (LSI) today (07/07) indicates that presidential candidate Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo’s popularity has rebounded, although the race remains tight. According to the survey, Jokowi and running mate Jusuf Kalla secured 47.8 percent of respondents’ votes, slightly higher than their rivals Prabowo Subianto and running mate Hatta Rajasa at 44.2 percent.

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On Saturday 5 July 2014, the fifth presidential debate between the two presidential pairs took place. Candidates Prabowo Subianto (joined by running mate Hatta Rajasa) and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (joined by running mate Jusuf Kalla) faced off in the last debate. The theme of this debate was 'energy, food security and environment'. Sudharto P. Hadi, Professor of Sociology at the Diponegoro University in Semarang (Central Java) was the moderator. On Wednesday 9 July 2014, the Indonesian people will go to the ballot boxes to elect their next leader.

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On 06 July 2014, Indonesia Investments released the latest edition of its newsletter. This free newsletter, which is sent to our subscribers once per week, contains the most important news stories from Indonesia that have been reported on our website in the last seven days. Most of the topics involve political and economic topics such as the presidential election, a rupiah and stock market update, an analysis of inflation and the trade balance, corruption, poverty, GDP growth, prospects of the copper price, and more.

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With only one more week to go before the Indonesian people will go to the ballot boxes on 9 July 2014 to vote for Indonesia's next leader, speculation and news about the presidential race has become intense. On social media, discussions among Indonesians about the election are intense and emotional. This is exacerbated by the high level of uncertainty with regard to the outcome of the election. Recent surveys indicate that the initial large gap between candidates Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Prabowo Subianto has nearly vanished.

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Incumbent Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat, abbreviated PD) announced that it will support the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair in the upcoming presidential election on 9 July 2014. Previously, the party had declared neutrality. On Monday (30/06), PD Executive Chairman Syarief Hasan stated that the party’s leadership advises all its members and supporters to back Prabowo Subianto in his quest to become the next Indonesian president.

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Opinions about who won the vice-presidential debate, held on Sunday (29/06) in the Bidakara hotel (South Jakarta), were mostly mixed. However, when reading the Indonesian media on Monday morning there seems to be a preference for Hatta Rajasa’s performance (the running mate of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto). When watching the debate, it was clear that Rajasa is a much more rhetorically gifted speaker compared to his rival Jusuf Kalla (Joko Widodo’s running mate).

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This evening (Sunday 29 June 2014), the fourth presidential debate took place, organized in the Bidakara hotel in South Jakarta. However, it was not a debate between the two presidential candidates, Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and Prabowo Subianto, but between both vice presidential candidates: Jusuf Kalla (Jokowi’s running mate) and Hatta Rajasa (Subianto’s running mate). The theme of tonight's debate was development of human resources, science and technology in Indonesia.

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In the past week, commotion occurred in Indonesia related to the presidential election (which is scheduled for 9 July 2014). This commotion, which involved two 2001 interviews by award-winning American journalist Allan Nairn, a Nazi video, and US ambassador Robert O. Blake Jr, was related to controversial presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, former army general and former son-in-law to Indonesia’s second president Suharto. The 2014 election has become a tight race between Subianto and market favourite Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo.

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Tensions in Indonesian society peaked in late August and early September 2025 as big demonstrations, fundamentally driven by deep, long-standing public frustration over economic hardship and perceived political corruption, took the streets. It was a scary period, with reportedly ten fatalities.

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A month ago, we reported on the large demonstrations that occupied the streets of various Indonesian cities in late August 2025 and early September 2025, touching on structural inequality and corruption in Indonesian society that cause persistent frustrations to simmer beneath the surface.

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Recently, the revision of Law No. 34 of Year 2004 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia, or TNI) that was passed by Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) in a plenary session on 20 March 2025 became a hot topic in Indonesian media.

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On 24 February 2025, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was joined by two former Indonesian presidents (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo) when he launched Danantara, Indonesia’s new sovereign wealth fund. Likely, the presence of two former presidents served to underline the historic significance of this launch as well as underscoring broad-based political support for the move.

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When Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto made his first speech as president on 20 October 2024, he stated that Indonesia seeks a “free and active non-aligned path. We don’t want to join any military pacts, [instead] we choose a friendly path with all countries.”

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On Sunday 20 October 2024, Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated as Indonesia’s 8th president at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)/House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta in a ceremony that was witnessed by various well-known Indonesian political figures.

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For Indonesia August is typically a month in which politics are on the foreground as the country commemorates its Independence Day on each 17th of August. This is an important day in Indonesian history as well as an occasion for many festivities and celebrations around the country.

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On 20 March 2024, the General Elections Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum or KPU) officially declared Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming the winning pair of the 2024 presidential election (that had taken place on 14 February 2024).

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On Wednesday 14 February 2024, a total of around 204.8 million Indonesian voters were allowed to choose the new president for the 2024-2029 period. And while not all people will take advantage of their right to vote (and there always is a number of invalid votes), we do expect more than 80 percent of that total to have shown up on Valentine’s Day.

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With Indonesia’s legislative and presidential elections approaching (on 14 February 2024), we plan to give an update on the elections each month. As we have repeatedly emphasized, these elections are crucial as incumbent President Joko Widodo cannot compete due to the two-term cap. And so, someone else will be behind the country’s political and economic steering wheel.

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