Indonesia's Deja Vu Election: What You Need to Know

As Indonesia’s April 17 Election Day nears, incumbent President Joko Widodo looks on course to secure a second term. His choice of an Islamic cleric as a running mate seems to have deflected questions about religious piety in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, helping the former furniture exporter keep the spotlight on his track record in taming inflation and creating jobs. Prabowo Subianto, the former general who lost in 2014 after a bitter campaign, is trying again to lure the nation’s 193 million voters with pledges of lower taxes and greater self-reliance in food and fuel. The president appoints a cabinet that governs together with the parliament, elections for which are being held concurrently for the first time.

Widodo, known as Jokowi, leads his rival by double-digits in surveys, though the gap has been narrowing. A poll conducted in March showed Jokowi with 54 percent support (down from 59 percent a year ago) and 35 percent for his rival, known as Prabowo (up from 30 percent). Among lawmakers, Jokowi has been endorsed by six parties that control about 60 percent of seats in the current lame-duck parliament, and four with none. Those include his own Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle and Golkar, the former ruling party under Suharto, Indonesia’s longtime authoritarian leader. Prabowo is supported by his Gerindra party and four others. In Indonesia, the main parties are more personality-driven than ideological.