The legislative and presidential elections in Indonesia in 2014

In: Electoral Studies, Band 36, S. 230-235

Abstract

In 2014, almost 190 million Indonesian voters participated in the legislative elections in April followed by the presidential elections in July. While Indonesia has arguably made a smooth transition from authoritarianism to democracy since the downfall of Suharto in 1998, many were concerned that the process was in danger of being reversed as the election was a tight race between two stark choices: the former general Prabowo Subianto, who has indicated a preference for a strong presidency and Joko Widodo (Jokowi), governor of Jakarta who had been commended for a series of governance reforms. Though Jokowi eventually emerged as victorious, many challenges lay ahead, most notably political corruption. [Copyright Elsevier Ltd.]