Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Independent candidates have won a number of regional elections, but their quest to contest the presidential race has been halted by a legal obstacle, at least t

Camelia Pasandaran – With legislative elections less than two months away, nothing is being done to correct shambolic final voter enrolment lists other than a frenzied game of finger po

Wasti Atmodjo, Denpasar – A voting simulation held Sunday by the Denpasar General Elections Commission (KPUD) revealed a flaw that almost everyone – laymen and pundits alike – had alrea

Election fever mounts as candidates discuss strategic alliances and running mates, but academic and Indonesia expert Max Lane says this may be an election characterized by disappointmen

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – British celebrity footballer David Beckham and US President Barack Obama have taken unexpected lead roles in the run-up to Indonesia's legislative elections in

Alfian, Jakarta – As it tries to ward off the fallout from the global recession, Indonesia's economy should focus more on developing the agriculture sector.

Adianto P.

Wasti Atmodjo, Jakarta – A simulation exercise held in Denpasar, Bali, over the weekend showed that 44 percent of eligible voters chose to abstain, an election committee member said.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – It has been more than a decade since Suharto relinquished power, yet some political parties are still seeking political points through connections to the late

Alfian, Jakarta – Despite their fundamental ideological differences, the secular-prone Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PK

Andra Wisnu, Denpasar – Opposition parties took jabs at the ruling ones for allowing last year's passage of the pornography law, ensuring the issue will become a central theme in Bali's

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court overturned Friday a demand to scrap the parliamentary threshold of 2.5 percent giving a major boost to efforts to simplify the politica

Jakarta – The Golkar Party is eyeing alternative coalitions with other key major political groups, in case the current Yudhoyono-Kalla pairing turns sour.

Jakarta – A former rebel whose wife is contesting regional elections in Indonesia's Aceh province has been fatally shot, raising fears the April polls could descend into violence, polic

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, Megawati Sukarnoputri, defended her 2001-04 government during a presentation of her party'

Camelia Pasandaran – The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled to reject a demand for a judicial review filed by 11 minor political parties against the minimum election vote share requir

Eny Wulandari, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court has turned down a request by several political parties to review a number of articles in the 2008 election law, citing lack of evidence

Jakarta – The Golkar Party is nearing breaking point over whether to name its own presidential candidate or maintain its coalition with the Democratic Party, political pundits said Thur

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Legislative candidates said Wednesday they would be careful in sending out SMS campaigns to voters because it could provoke a backlash.

Jakarta – Despite an apology from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Golkar Party is still up in arms over Democratic Party (PD) deputy chairman Ahmad Mubarok's remark that Golkar

Jakarta – The national elections body complained Tuesday about problems with determining the number of eligible voters in several areas across the country.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Muninggar Sri Saraswati – Debate about the need for the Golkar Party to name a presidential candidate before the April legislative elections has sharpened

Erwida Maulia, Cikeas, West Java – In an attempt to contain the damage to his ties with the Golkar Party, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reprimanded an executive from his Democr

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Agus Maryono, Bandung/Purwokerto – The General Elections Commission (KPU) said there is the potential that many votes will rendered invalid if voters mark ballot pa

Jakarta – Hopes abound within the Golkar Party leadership for a deal with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono not to change the winning team in the July presidential election.

Jakarta – Overwhelmed and unpersuaded by the clutter of campaign ads, many city residents are still undecided about who they will choose in the upcoming general elections.

Adianto P.

Jakarta/Bandung – Vice President Jusuf Kalla has rejected growing calls for his Golkar Party to discuss presidential candidates during its national meeting this week.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) will on Tuesday begin distributing ballots for the legislative election, despite protests from political parties.

Jakarta – Many political parties contesting the April 9 elections have wasted the power of the Internet to reach out to a wider range of voters, a study shows.

Ambon – One year after the establishment of the Great Indonesia Movement Party, or Gerindra, the party is already claiming 10 million members and has high hopes for adding another five

Febriamy Hutapea – Betraying an underlying sense of confidence, the Democratic Party said on Friday that it is content to wait for the results of April's legislative polls before offici

Camelia Pasandaran – After few signals that the government is ready or willing to issue an emergency regulation to revise the elections law, lawmakers appear to be taking matters into t

Adianto P.

Four people have been named suspects and face more than five years in jail over a violent clash between protesters and police in Indonesia's sensitive Papua Province, police said on Thu

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Febriamy Hutapea – Five former military leaders attended a meeting in Jakarta on Thursday amid the controversy surrounding President Susilo Bambang Yudhoy

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Gunmen have shot dead two former Aceh rebels in the last two days, adding to a string of violence that has plagued the province ahead of the elections.

Jakarta – As political parties and legislative candidates campaign ahead of the general elections, more businesses are benefiting from their hurly-burly for popularity.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights accused the government Monday of failing to protect the rights of citizens choosing not to vote in the upcoming elections after politic

Jakarta – A recent allegation made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of bias within the Army's elite has angered scores of former generals.

Jakarta – Christians in the country are concerned Muslim parties could ratchet up their political leverage by winning more votes in the upcoming legislative elections, and continue to p

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Allegations made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that an Army officer had urged people against voting for a candidate whose name began with "S," could h

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The police and military have faced increasing scrutiny over their commitment to remain politically neutral in the upcoming elections, with President Susilo Bamb

Jakarta – Senior legislator Permadi has resigned from the House of Representatives and quit his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), to join the newly formed Grea

Jakarta – The Star Reform Party (PBR) is positioning itself as a religious party that is 'socialistic', by not accentuating religious symbols, but rather with a substance that sides wit

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – The legal stipulation requiring a political party to acquire a minimum number of seats in the House of Representatives before it can nominate a presidential ca

Blontank Poer, Surabaya – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) ended a two-day meeting Wednesday no closer to picking a running mate for chairwoman and presidential hopef

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, voted Sultan Hamengkubuwono X the party's preferred vice presidential candidate during the final day of

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Sally Piri – Sultan Hamengkubuwono X should be expelled from the Golkar Party for "violating party discipline" by signalling a willingness to run for vice

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Bandung, Padang – Regional general election commissions (KPUDs) are concerned with the new way to vote in which voters have to tick instead of