When Indonesians elect their Members of Parliament (MPs) on Wednesday and a new President three months later on July 9, their decisions will have an impact on the wider region. Given Indonesia’s pivotal position in South-east Asia, this is to be expected.

However, understanding the full implications of their electoral choices will not be easy, as there are two “known unknowns” in the country’s latest power transition. The first concerns the new Parliament. The second is about the new President. Until and unless the picture becomes clearer towards the end of the year, a new government clouded by these twin ambiguities could mean quite a testy time ahead for the region.

… Yang Razali Kassim is a Senior Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.