Indonesia election 2024: is Jokowi’s ‘partiality’ for Prabowo a double-edged sword for the presidential hopeful?

While Widodo has claimed he is impartial and has not officially endorsed any of the three presidential candidates running in next month’s poll, observers say there is no denying he has thrown his tacit support behind Prabowo, given that his running mate, Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is also Widodo’s eldest son.

Last week, an influential civil society organisation called the National Movement of Conscience held talks with Vice-President Ma’ruf Amin and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to urge poll organisers and government institutions to uphold democratic values and maintain neutrality during the election process.

“[The] process of democratisation has recently been distorted; the coming elections have shown increasingly worrying symptoms,” the group said in a statement published in The Jakarta Post newspaper. “The slogan of ‘a fair and honest election’ is not enough, because the elections must also take place peacefully and with dignity.”

Questions surrounding Widodo’s neutrality, or lack thereof, were again reignited after photos circulated online of the president hosting Prabowo, who is also the country’s defence minister, for a private dinner earlier this month.

A report by local news outlet Tempo, citing unnamed politicians familiar with the goings-on of the meeting, said Widodo was looking to shore up support for the Prabowo-Gibran ticket following concerns the pair might not be able to secure an outright poll victory.

To avoid a run-off, the duo will have to garner at least 50 per cent of the vote on February 14. Failing that, there will be a second round run-off vote between the first- and second-place finishers on June 26.

The latest opinion poll released by Indikator Politik on Thursday showed