Indonesian 2019 Elections: A Review
Indonesia Studies Programme Seminar
About the Seminar
On 17 April 2019, 192 million eligible voters in Indonesia chose their president, vice president, and national, provincial, regional, and local representatives. The campaign, which lasted for seven months, demonstrated “transactional” politics more than any policy contestation. Spin and demagogy centring on identity politics dominated the campaign, including in the social media. Islamic leaders and activists were also involved in the political campaign, with the hope to shape public opinion.
This post-election seminar seeks to review the overall election process and results. ISEAS visiting fellows Max Lane and Quinton Temby will share their observations on the campaign process and assessment of the results. They will look at how the campaign played out nationally, as well as in selected key battlegrounds. Other issues, such as the predominance of golput, or the move to boycott election, and the performance of Islamic political parties, will also be discussed.
About the Speakers
Max Lane is Senior Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute and Visiting Lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. He has recently edited a volume Continuity and Change after Indonesia’s Reforms: Contributions to an Ongoing Assessment (ISEAS, 2019). His book Indonesia Tidak Hadir di Bumi Manusia: Pramoedya, Sejarah dan Politik (2017) – [Indonesia is Not Present on This Earth of Mankind: Pramoedya, History and Politics] is now into its second printing. He is the translator of Pramoedya’s reknown Buru Quartet, starting with This Earth of Mankind as well as Pramoedya’s The Chinese in Indonesia and Arok of Java.
Quinton Temby is Visiting Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Prior to joining ISEAS, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political and Social Change (PSC) at the Australian National University’s Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs. He completed his PhD thesis on the rise of global jihadism in Southeast Asia at the ANU in 2017.
About the Discussant
Made Supriatma is Visiting Fellow at the Indonesia Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. He was the former editor of JoyoNews, an Indonesian news service for English-speaking subscribers. His research is mostly on military politics, ethnic conflicts and violence, and Indonesian politics. He is currently finishing his PhD with the Department of Government, Cornell University.
Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg