Country Report Indonesia March 2011

Outlook for 2011-15: Election watch

Indonesia will elect a new president to succeed Mr Yudhoyono in 2014. Parliamentary elections will also be held in that year and will have an important bearing on the outcome of the presidential poll. According to the election law, only political parties (or groups of parties) that win at least 20% of seats in parliament or 25% of the vote in the legislative election are eligible to nominate presidential candidates, meaning that the next president is likely to be the nominee of one of the country's three main parties-the PD, Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P). Mr Bakrie is a strong contender for the Golkar nomination, but he would be a controversial choice owing to the possibility of conflicts of interest arising from his extensive business empire. Speculation has increased recently that Ms Mulyani is considering a bid for the presidency, possibly in partnership with the PD chairman, Anas Urbaningrum. A contest between Mr Bakrie and Ms Mulyani would present voters with a clear choice between conservatism and reform. But it is not certain that Ms Mulyani will declare herself a candidate and, even if she were to do so, she is less popular at home than she is with foreign investors, making her victory far from assured.

© 2011 The Economist lntelligence Unit Ltd. All rights reserved
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