ExplainerIndonesia election 2024: as Jokowi ends his term, what issues do 3 presidential hopefuls face?

With President Joko Widodo’s son a vice-presidential candidate to Prabowo Subianto, analysts say political dynasties will dominate the campaign

Issues with Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara, youth voters and religion, as well as intra-party rivalry in the ruling PDI-P, are also top of mind

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Motorists drive past a banner depicting Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko Widodo. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:00pm, 28 Oct 2023Updated: 2:19pm, 28 Oct 2023

After this week, there is unlikely to be any major reveals regarding the candidates involved in the Indonesian presidential election or their policy platforms.

The three tickets have all filed their nomination papers for the February 14 polls, and unveiled their policy platforms.

But open elections are very rarely focused solely on the candidates and their policies. Campaigns often tend to be dominated by major issues of public concern that sometimes the political players hope to skirt around during the hustings.

As the three pairings of Ganjar Pranowo and Mohammad Mahfud (also known as Mahfud MD), Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar get ready to enter the fourth gear of campaigning, what might be the issues they will have to contend with?

Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo (right) and his running mate Mahfud MD greet supporters as they leave the elections commission building in Jakarta. Photo: EPA-EFE

Dynasty politics

Political observers in Indonesia have signalled that the subject of political dynasties – and their merit or lack thereof – will inevitably be front and centre of the campaign.