On The Radar: Indonesia's presidential candidates

On Valentine's Day 2024, the world's third-largest democracy and fourth-most populous nation will go to the polls.

Indonesia will be choosing its next president and vice-president - and for the first time since 2009, more than 200 million voters in the country will have a choice between three different candidates.

Incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is ineligible to run again, as Indonesia has a two-term limit for the role.

So who are the three main contenders who have put their hats into the ring? Here’s a quick round-up:

Prabowo Subianto, Defense Minister

This will be Prabowo’s third attempt at running, having lost to Jokowi in the previous two elections. He is a former general and is Indonesia’s current Minister of Defense. 

Recent polls have Prabowo currently in the lead and just this week, he announced his pick for his vice-presidential running mate: Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

Naturally, this announcement drew a lot of attention. At only 36, Gibran would be the country's youngest candidate for the vice-presidential role - and up until recently, his age would have made him ineligible to run. Under Indonesian law, the minimum age for presidential and vice-presidential candidates is 40. However, the week before candidate registration closed, Indonesia's top court, the Constitutional Court, ruled that there could be an exception if the candidate was an elected regional official. Gibran is the Mayor of Surakarta. 

His vice-presidential nomination also drew further scrutiny with accusations that current president Jokowi was paving the way to build a political dynasty for his family. 

On the other hand, Prabowo himself has also drawn controversy by throwing his name into the ring. Some international headlines around Prabowo running for president have focused on his alleged human rights breaches: he was banned from entering the US more than 20 years ago, as part of a ban on the Indonesian Army's Special Forces for alleged human rights violations in East Timor under Suharto's dictatorship.

Ganjar Pranowo, former Central Java governor

Ganjar Pranowo, from the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has overall been trailing just behind Prabowo in recent polls in what is shaping up to be a tight election.

Ganjar has served two terms as the governor of Central Java, one of Indonesia's most populous provinces and has a history as a senior politician in Indonesia's largest political party in the lower house, the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

However, his background and leadership style have drawn comparisons to current president Jokowi, with both building popularity through a grassroots campaign style often called blusukan, or impromptu visit. Ganjar is also the candidate most active on social media, reaching younger voters through TikTok and X (formally Twitter).

He's not without controversy however - earlier this year, he drew headlines when he called for a ban of the Israeli soccer team from participating in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, saying he supported Palestine's independence. 

Senior minister Mahfud MD has been selected as Ganjar's running mate.

Anies Baswedan, former governor of Jakarta

Currently running in a distant third in polls, Anies Baswedan and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar, chairman of the Islam-based National Awakening Party were the first to register as candidates for the election. 

Anies has a background in academia and education, before coming to politics - he even spent time as education minister in Jokowi's first term.

He is facing an uphill battle to the role, given polls place him at around 20 percent and his two rivals around the mid-30s. Some analysts have suggested he may have the 2029 elections in mind, rather than success in 2024.

 - Asia Media Centre