Election campaigning gets underway in Indonesia

Campaigning ahead of next April’s presidential election in Indonesia officially got underway at the weekend, with President Joko Widodo (also known as Jokowi) set to take on former general, Prabowo Subianto, in a repeat of the 2014 election. In order to boost his chances, Jokowi has picked Ma'ruf Amin, leader of the Indonesian Ulema Council, as his running mate. The decision is aimed at boosting his popularity among Muslim voters, but there are fears his appointment could deter moderate voters. Current opinion polls give Jokowi a double-digit lead over Prabowo, although this gap could start to narrow unless there is an improvement in the performance of the economy. GDP growth has averaged around 5% over the past few years, well short of the president’s 7.0% target. The recent slump in the rupiah, which has led the central bank to raise interest rates aggressively this year will weigh on the economy’s prospects, making a sustained recovery unlikely.