Jim Efstathiou Jr.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Former President Megawati Sukarnoputri has given her strongest hint yet that she may contest the 2014 presidential election, suggesting on Monday that moves t

Robertus Wardi – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie on Thursday named five potential vice presidential candidates to run with him in the 2014 election.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Ayah Din and Raja Muda, both members of the Aceh Party (PA), were reportedly shot by unidentified assailants while traveling home from the swearing-in ce

Ezra Sihite – The Golkar Party has set an ambitious target to win 30 percent of the votes in the 2014 legislative election, but analysts say that might not be enough to propel its chair

Ezra Sihite – The National Democrat Party has unveiled a war chest of up to Rp 3 trillion ($318 million) to help it win a massive 31 percent of seats at the House of Representatives in

Jakarta – The Golkar Party is expected to nominate chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie as its presidential candidate for the 2014 election on July 1.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Tensions between Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and his predecessor Irwandi Yusuf appear to have outlived the fraught election last April, with Zaini's supporte

Banda Aceh – Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi inaugurated newly elected Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah and his deputy, Muzakir Manaf, at a ceremony here on Monday.

Slamet Susanto, Bantul, Yogyakarta – Up to 78 Golkar Party branches officially declared Sunday their support for Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X to run as the vice presi

The Timorese police today arrested two persons in Baucau, east of Dili, for stoning supporters of the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (Fretilin) at the end of a rally for

Ezra Sihite – Golkar Party chairman and business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie is reportedly considering Edhie Baskoro, the youngest son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as his running m

Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Rizky Amelia, Ezra Sihite & Bayu Marhaenjati – Neneng Sri Wahyuni's arrest is part of a wider plan to allow Anas Urbaningrum, the chairman of President Sus

Jakarta – Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum is warning his opponents that he is still in charge of the party and any efforts to topple him will fail.

Yogyakarta – A plenary session held by the Golkar Party's Yogyakarta provincial branch on Friday evening decided to propose Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X of Yogyakarta Palace for the par

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's claim on Wednesday that his Democratic Party ranked only third in terms of the number of its members involved in corrupti

Ezra Sihite & Arientha Primanitha – Amid speculation about what President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meant earlier this week when he asked troubled members of his Democratic Party to

Margareth S.

Ezra Sihite – A decision by the National Democrat Party to give as much as Rp 10 billion ($1.1 million) to each of its candidates preparing to run for a seat in the House of Representat

Ezra Sihite, SP/Robertus Wardi & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Surveys are finding that old faces will dominate the upcoming presidential campaign, with the latest poll placing general

Margareth S.

The Democratic Party has given antigraft officials until the end of next month to either name their chairman a corruption suspect or exonerate him of any role in a bid-rigging case.

Robertus Wardi – As Prabowo Subianto seeks the support of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for a presidential run in 2014, his party is beginning to express its support for some of th

Fidelis E Satriastanti, Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Legislators have sprung to the defense of Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie as he continues to take flak for the

Margareth S.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Democratic Party chairman Anas Urbaningrum has been fighting for his political survival since he was implicated months ago in several graft cases.

Bagus BT Saragih and Margareth S.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Wiranto, a retired Army general who was strongman President Suharto's last military chief, said on Tuesday that he would run for president in 2014, claiming t

Bayu Marhaenjati – With his Democratic Party struggling to produce a strong presidential candidate to put up in the 2014 election, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appears to be looki

Damien Kingsbury – As Timor-Leste heads towards it parliamentary elections, it is increasingly likely that no single party will receive sufficient votes to hold an absolute majority in

This weekend, East Timor will see the installation of the new head of state after the recent presidential elections.

East Timor's new president says the 10th anniversary of his country's independence from Indonesia is a time for generational change.

Margareth S.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives is forming a legal team to defend the newly enacted law that regulates the 2014 legislative elections against challenges by polit

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & SP/Robertus Wardi – Two years before the nation goes to the polls to elect the next president, a debate has emerged over the requirements for nominating c

Ezra Sihite – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie has denied talk of rift within the party after some senior politicians publicly questioned his presidential candidacy.

Adapted from http://laohamutuk.blogspot.com/2012/05/lh-observations-on-president-election.ht

Apriadi Gunawan and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Medan/Jakarta – Scores of Golkar members burned their yellow party jackets in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday to protest against chairman Aburiza

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Robertus Wardi – With the electoral requirement that a political party or coalition of parties win at least 20 percent of votes in the legislative electio

Political parties are engaging in a game of celebrity one-upmanship as they rush to sign on stars for the 2014 elections.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The "oligarchic" leadership that Aburizal Bakrie is developing within the Golkar Party is threatening democracy and undermining the party itself, according

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Golkar Party has started a program to recruit and give political training to celebrities so they can run for office in the 2014 elections.

The place of the rebellious Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in the ruling coalition again appears secure, despite weeks of discontent from members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's

Nethy Dharma Somba and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jayapura/Jakarta – Papuan lawmakers have urged Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi to replace caretaker governor Syamsul Arief due to him being "incap

Anna Powles, Dili – In a vote influenced by nationalism and nostalgia, Timor Leste's voters overwhelmingly chose former defense force chief Jose Maria Vasconcelos, more commonly known b

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Having failed to get reelected in the Aceh gubernatorial election on April 9, Irwandi Yusuf has established a new political party.

Jakarta – A senior Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician says former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, has the authority to determine which member will be its presi

Former guerrilla fighter Taur Matan Ruak has officially won East Timor's presidential election, according to a court statement that confirmed preliminary results announced last week.

Ezra Sihite – Critics have panned the House of Representatives' new seat allocation, saying it does not properly represent constituents as the House's population data is not valid and t

Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Golkar Party chairman Aburizal Bakrie will meet the party's senior politicians later this week as he continues to face opposition to a poten