Jakarta – The non-government organisation (NGO) Green Papua claims that 654,561 Papuans have signed a petition opposing the extension of Special Autonomy (Otsus) for Papua.

Irwan Syambudi & Mohammad Bernie – There were 68 independent or individual candidates who contested the December 9 election of regional heads (Pilkada), but according to the General Elections Commission (KPU) only six won.

Haris Prabowo – The total number of people who used their right to vote in the December 9 election of regional heads was low in several parts of the country. In the context of Indonesian politics, those who do not vote – regardless of the motivation and reasons – can be classified as golongan putih or golput.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) officially appointed its new leadership board for the period 2020-2025 during its 10th National Conference which was held in Jakarta on November 25-27.

Text reads:

Democracy in Indonesia dies:

1. If a regional election is won by using racial and religious sentiment like you.
2. If the democratic system is replaced by an Islamic caliphate by your friends.

Achmad Zulfikar Fazli, Jakarta – The Jakarta Islamic State University Social and Islamic Studies Centre (PPIM UIN) has released the results of the latest research on religious trends on social media.

Dipo Negoro and Leon Kastayudha – The Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation was finally enacted into law by the House of Representatives (DPR) on October 5.

Indriyani Astuti – The General Elections Commission (KPU) has finalised the hundreds of candidate pairs which will compete in the simultaneous election of regional heads (pilkada) on December 9.

Jakarta – Protests against the Omnibus Law on Job Creation have spread to almost all parts of the country since it was passed into law during a House of Representatives (DPR) plenary session on Monday October 5.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) suspects that business tycoons (cukong) or capitalists are behind the government and the House of Representatives’ (DPR) decision to push on with the 2020 simultaneous election of regional heads (pilkada) in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jakarta – “It’s difficult not to admit that the discourse on the revival of communism surfaces every year in lead up to September 30 or October 1. Because it emerges repeatedly at the same time every year, it’s difficult to deny that the issue is intentionally brought up for political interests”.

Jakarta – As many as 290 farmer, fisherpeople, student, labour and environmental organisations have united to reject the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation – which is still being deliberated by the House of Representatives (DPR).

Dian Erika Nugraheny, Jakarta – Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) researcher Heroik Pratama says that the increase in the number of sole candidate tickets (paslon) this year represents a strategy being used by the political parties to ensure victory in the 2020 election of regional heads.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD says that almost 92 percent of candidate regional heads spread across all of Indonesia are funded by cukong (business tycoons).

Palupi Annisa Auliani (editor) – The threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic has distracted public attention. In the mist of the panic among the public, many strategic decisions on public policies have been taken without public involvement or participation.

From an oped piece titled Watch out, the sabotage of ‘political legislation’ in the era of the pandemic

Illustration by Kompas/Heryunanto.

Jakarta – Hundreds of protesters from the People’s Movement Alliance (ARB) have again taken to the streets to oppose the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation (RUU Ciptaker) during a rally on Jl Gejayan in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta on Friday August 14.

Jakarta – The election monitoring group Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) is predicting that there will be 31 regions where there will be sole candidates in the 2020 elections of regional heads (pilkada).

Achmad Nasrudin Yahya, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform is urging the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) to be transparent in its deliberations on the Draft Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on the Role of the Indonesian Military in Tackling Terrorism.

Solo – A recommendation by the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to back President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as a mayoral candidate in the regional elections in Solo, Central Java, has attracted criticism from student groups in the city.