Campaigning ahead of next April’s presidential election in Indonesia officially got underway at the weekend, with President Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi) set to take on former general, Prabowo Subianto, in a repeat of the 2014 election. In order to boost his chances, Jokowi has picked Ma'ruf Amin, leader of the Indonesian Ulema Council, as his running mate. The decision is aimed at boosting his popularity among Muslim voters, but there are fears his appointment could deter moderate voters. Current opinion polls give Jokowi a double-digit lead over Prabowo, although this gap could start to narrow unless there is an improvement in the performance of the economy. GDP growth has averaged around 5% over the past few years, well short of the president’s 7.0% target. The recent slump in the rupiah, which has led the central bank to raise interest rates aggressively this year will weigh on the economy’s prospects, making a sustained recovery unlikely.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services