Current development suggests that the opposition-dominated parliament would be President Jokowi’s biggest challenge in delivering reform. What are the possible scenarios for Jokowi’s relationship with parliament in the next five years?

Although President Joko Widodo’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) won the 2014 legislative elections, his Great Indonesia Coalition (Koalisi Indonesia Hebat, KIH) did not secure the majority of seats in the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR). On the other hand, the Red-White Coalition (Koalisi Merah Putih, KMP), which supported Prabowo Subianto in the 2014 presidential election, significantly outnumbers the ruling coalition in the DPR.

Nevertheless, the saga has moved far beyond the Jokowi versus Prabowo relationship to a more complex competition for political power. Prabowo’s Gerindra Party is no longer the sole director of the KMP with Golkar now the primary conductor of the orchestra.

…Tiola Javadi is a Research Associate and Adhi Priamarizki Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.