Indonesia Elections 2024: In Sumatra, the road to presidency hinges on President Jokowi’s infrastructure drive

Sumatra, which is home to 60 million persons, is Indonesia’s second-most numerous beach after Java and is regarded as one of the major political battlegrounds in Indonesia. Out of 580 votes in Indonesia’s congress, 127 are held by the 10 regions of Sumatra.

Some provinces with a diverse ethnic makeup and political views, such as Lampung and North Sumatra, have been referred to as predictor areas, frequently emulating how federal voters acted in prior elections. In addition to &nbsp,

A THREE-HORS E RACE IMPLICATES Things

In Sumatra, a large 470, 000 km spear-shaped area that separates the Indian Ocean from the Malacca Strait, Mr. Jokowi had to struggle hard during the past two elections to win the hearts and minds of electors. &nbsp,

Mr. Jokowi lost to Prabowo Subianto, a retired Army general at the time, in four out of ten regions in Sumatra in 2014.

The leader fared even worse when Mr. Jokowi squared off against Dr. Prabowo for the next day five years later, losing six Sumatran regions, including Aceh and West Sumattra, where the retired general won by a flood of more than 85 %.

Even in North Sumatra, a region well-known for being Mr. Jokowi’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle ( PDI- P ) stronghold, the incumbent was only able to win the 2019 election by 52 %.

However, Mr. Jokowi’s recognition in Sumatra started to jump when his system drive got going during his second term in office.

According to Dr. Alfian of Aceh’s Malikussaleh University,” If Jokowi does run for a second term, he may win again.”

Currently, Indonesia has three presidential candidates running for office this year: original governors of Jakarta Anies Baswedan, Prabowo, and Ganjar Pranowo of Central Java.

Since the 2019 election, Mr. Prabowo has served as the defense secretary in the president’s cabinet and has selected Gibran Rakabuming Raaka as his running mate.

Ganjar, who some claim has a leadership style similar to Mr. Jokowi’s, is being criticized by his party, the PDI-P, and three other parties in the president-reigning coalition.

Nevertheless, Mr. Anies is riding on a strategy system that promises to change the way the current authorities is running the country. He is supported by conservative Muslim organizations and members of the opposition, among others.