President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must stop skirting issues that could compromise his image, because such a strategy could backfire if his inaction ends up exacerbating social issues,

Anita Rachman & Nurfika Osman, Jakarta – Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, the youngest son of former President Suharto, hinted at presidential ambitions on Friday, saying he would cons

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) has become the first political grouping that openly supports Sri Mulyani Indrawati's presidential bid in 2014 if the former finance minister

Jakarta – Majority of Indonesians believe in elections as a means to influence political decision-making processes and support democracy, according to a survey by the International Foun

Jakarta – Despite a number of recent incidents stemming from interfaith issues in the country, political parties still do not consider it a priority, a discussion heard Wednesday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has made the widely expected announcement that he will run for president in 2014 – but only with solid and well

Faisal Maliki Baskoro, Jakarta – After the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry elected Suryo Bambang Sulisto as its new chairman on Saturday, questions quickly arose over his ti

Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – Political parties in the ruling coalition on Tuesday played down speculation fueled by Democratic Party politicians on a possible Cabinet shake-up, call

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Analysts have dismissed the efforts of several small political parties to court former president Suharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra as their

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Despite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's flagging popularity, his Democrats remain the party to beat, in part because of a lack of viable alternatives, ac

Guido Goulart, Dili – Prime Minster Xanana Gusmao said Friday that the resignation of his deputy, whose party has threatened to withdraw from the ruling coalition, will not lead to the

Guido Goulart, Dili, East Timor – One of East Timor's deputy prime ministers said he has resigned after Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao publicly called him a "liar" for his outspoken criti

Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – The incumbent head of Boven Digoel district in Papua is leading the early vote count in his bid for re-election, despite being detained in a Jakarta cell on

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – The legal requirement that a third of a political party's executive board be comprised of female officials was being blatantly ignored, a civil society group

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono assembled leaders of tiny political parties at his residence on Sunday evening, in what one observer said was an attempt to g

Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – In the face of what appears to be a public relations nightmare, the Democratic Party on Friday blamed the media and political exp

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The President's popularity has declined in the first year of his second tenure, but voters are apparently reluctant to switch their support from the President's

Jakarta – The Golkar Party's initiative to interpellate President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for his handling of a recent dispute with Malaysia received a cold response from other parties

Fidelis E Satriastanti, Jakarta – The State Ministry for the Environment is finalizing regulations that would oblige all companies to manage their waste according to prescribed standard

Anita Rachman& Arientha Primanita, Jakarta – A lawmaker from the main opposition party has made the radical suggestion of having two legislative thresholds, just the latest twist in

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – A flurry of recent controversies that rocked the Democratic Party will not dent the party's voter base during regional elections because of the widespread pop

Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Lawmakers should settle their differences and reach a consensus on the draft of a revision of the 2007 Law on Election Organizers, a watchdog said on Friday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The country's big political parties should provide proof that their push for an increased legislative threshold is not part of a sinister ploy to cro

Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie visited a number of Islamic boarding schools in East Java on Thursday and played down the provincial legislative council's plan to set up

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle hopes to tap into the country's substantial and often politically apathetic youth to win more votes in th

Anita Rachman & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – Jockeying for the 2014 presidential election has begun in earnest with a respected scholar and former candidate touting Hatta Raj

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Former National Mandate Party chairman Soetrisno Bachir has announced his resignation from the party he once led.

Armando Siahaan & Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Although the suggestion that the Constitution be amended to allow President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to have another term was soundly reje

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asserted he had no intention to extend his tenure and would leave office in 2014.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday backed away from comments from a member of his party that the Indonesian Constitution should be amended to allow Yudhoyono to r

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The ruling Democratic Party has softened its stance on a proposed increase in the legislative threshold following pleas from smaller parties, saying

Jakarta – Concerns that if the parliamentary threshold is increased it will impact on the number of valid votes that are wasted may be excessive because it will actually reduce the numb

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The clutch of small parties in the ruling coalition has called on the president's Democrats to reconsider their support for a proposal that would dou

Armando Siahaan, Indonesia – Rampant vote-buying in regional elections is fueled by voters themselves, a survey shows.

Dessy Sagita – The Constitutional Court and the National Police signed a landmark agreement on Tuesday that is expected to aid in resolving electoral disputes, while offering more flexi

Anita Rachman, Jakarta – Following the elections of at least five corruption suspects in district and regional polls, watchdog groups on Sunday called for the implementation of stricter

Jakarta – The People's Conscience Party (Hanura) along with several small political parties have declared their full support for former President Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo "Tommy"

Jakarta – Crescent Star Party chairman Malam Sambat Kaban on Thursday announced the direction the party will take to increase its share of seats in the 2014 general election.

Armando Siahaan, Indonesia – The Democratic Party has experienced a resurgence in provincial elections that have traditionally been won by more established parties, but needs to do more

Amir Tejo, Surabaya – Low turnout marked Sunday's re-vote for the mayor of Surabaya, with many citizens protesting the Constitutional Court for ordering another vote.

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo, East Java – PT Lapindo Brantas' latest effort to win public support after triggering a disastrous mudflow in Sidoarjo failed when its top executives were bea

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The main opposition party will convene a key national meeting next week to put a stop to a spate of defections among its 5,000 regional officials, including g

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The opposition juggernaut Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has become the latest party after Golkar to caution against the rising prom

With the ongoing second wave of local elections, will regular polls bring a better public awareness of voting and improved competence of election bodies, or merely a means to gain power

Ridwan Max Sijabat – One reason behind the various flaws in the election body – in the words of its own chief – is that the body is staffed by people with partisan agendas.

Jakarta – National Awakening Party (PKB) leaders are embroiled in a political tug-of-war over how to thwart major political parties' plans to double the parliamentary threshold in the 2

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Tensions are rising within the coalition government as some ministers are dismayed by their poor grades in a recent appraisal sparking calls for a Cabinet reshu

Armando Siahaan – Lawmakers from House of Representatives Commission II failed once again on Thursday to reach a consensus on the draft of a revision to the 2007 Law on Election Organiz

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The next legislative elections are four years away, but debate is already underway on a change to the parliamentary threshold, which will affect the number of p

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Golkar stalwart Priyo Budi Santoso's call for a cabinet reshuffle was rebuffed by other lawmakers from the ruling coalition as political grandstanding on Tues