Indonesia Elections 2024: Leading candidates, global uncertainty, and the political and the economic legacy of President Joko Widodo.

With Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s second term concluding in 2024, political jockeying among potential successors is now in full swing. Who are they are and what kind of impact might they seek to have on the direction of the nation? Meanwhile, Indonesia’s economy is undergoing several major transformations, some of which are not well covered in public discourse. How might Australia connect with these changes and what will be the impact of global economic and political uncertainties on Joko Widodo’s economic reforms? As Indonesia chairs the G20 this year and ASEAN the next, what kind of diplomatic leadership can we expect and why do so many Indonesians support Russia in its invasion of Ukraine?

About Kevin Evans:

Kevin has been a student of Southeast Asia in general and Indonesia in particular, for 35 years. During the 25 years he has lived in Indonesia he has worked variously as a diplomat, stockbroker, academic and NGO activist. With the foreign service he worked three years in Canberra mostly in the Indonesia Section prior to posting to Jakarta as Third Secretary with a focus on economic issues. After three years there he was appointed Vice Consul for a further year after which he moved to the Education and Training Section rising to become Counsellor prior to departing the foreign service for the Jakarta capital markets with the ANZ Investment Bank. With the onset of political reform in Indonesia in 1998 Kevin became engaged in a wide range of governance reform issues including constitutional reform, civil service reform, electoral, parliamentary and political party reform and decentralisation. Initially he worked inside the presidential team that drafted the first post-Soeharto-era laws, which promoted the democratisation of the political system. Later, Kevin lived for four years in Aceh working on post-tsunami reconstruction with government ministers to create policies and lead institutions focused on corruption prevention. Prior to joining the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Kevin worked closely with the President’s Delivery Unit, UKP4, advising on a number of environmental governance programs.