The parliamentary elections in Indonesia will be held on April 9. 6,600 candidates from 15 parties will contest in these elections. The leading contenders are the Democratic Party, which is the ruling party, the Golkar Party, the oldest political party in the country and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, headed by the former President of Indonesia, Megawati Sukarnoputri.
190 million voters are expected to cast their votes in the parliamentary elections, of which 67 million are first-time voters. Many parallels are being drawn between the elections in Indonesia and India – in both countries corruption, social media campaigns and shifting political alliances are dominating themes.
The elections are crucial because the outcome will have a bearing on the presidential election scheduled to be held in July. The candidates contesting the presidential election will need the support of one of the parties or alliances that secures 20% of the votes in the parliamentary elections. The April 9 elections will elect members to both the national and regional legislatures.