After two terms of Joko Widodo’s leadership, Indonesia’s 2024 General Election will mark the first change in leadership in ten years.

The Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto is most likely to win the candidacy according to polling, along with Vice President Candidate Gibran Rakabuming, the son of Joko Widodo. Despite accusations of kidnapping pro-democracy advocates throughout the 1990’s, human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua, and accusations of nepotistic endorsements from Joko Widodo, Indonesia sees Prabowo’s campaign as the ‘continuation’ of Joko Widodo’s presidency.

His populist campaign appeals to Indonesia’s largely younger population, where people under 40 make up 50% of the number of registered voters.

Rampant student protests about the cost of living and democratic decline mean that the outcome of this already-significant election will have reverberations throughout Indonesia, the third-largest democracy in the world.

Image: Image: Shutterstock: Masheru09

Produced By: Rock Forrester

Featured In Story: Emeritus Professor Greg Fealy is a specialist in Indonesian politics and Islam in the Department of Political and Social Change, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

First aired on The Wire, Tuesday 13 February 2024