Seminar: Previewing the 2017 Jakarta Election: Candidates, Coalitions and Prospects for the Campaign

INDONESIA STUDIES PROGRAMME

 

About the Seminar

In February 2017, Indonesia will stage yet another round of direct local elections for governors, mayors and district heads. Arguably, the most highly anticipated of these upcoming polls will be the gubernatorial election in the capital Jakarta where incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known as Ahok, will seek to become the first Christian ethnic Chinese to win an executive election in the nation’s capital. In recent months, the Jakarta election has already captured the public’s attention as Ahok reneged on an earlier announcement to run as an independent candidate and accepted a party nomination instead. Meanwhile, speculation and rumours about who will challenge Ahok in the election have also mounted ahead of the registration deadline on 23 September. Given the pivotal importance of this election and the immense public interest in who will become Jakarta’s next governor, this seminar will provide a preview of the 2017 Jakarta election. It will introduce the candidates who registered with the General Election Commission, trace their pathways to the nomination, and assess their respective strengths and weaknesses. It will then contextualize the election in broader political trends in Indonesia and analyse the significance of the impending campaign for future elections in Indonesia.

About the Speakers

Dr Charlotte Setijadi is Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Her research interests include Chinese soft power in Southeast Asia, ethnic Chinese business networks, transnational migration, and identity politics in Indonesia.

Dr Deasy Simandjuntak is Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Her research interests include democratization, decentralization, local elections and identity politics in Indonesia.

Dr Dirk Tomsa is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. His main research interests include electoral and party politics in Indonesia as well as comparative Southeast Asian politics.

Registration
To register, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents3@iseas.edu.sg by 26 September 2016.

Date

Sep 27 2016
Expired!

Time

10:00 am - 11:30 am

Location

ISEAS Seminar Room 2