Although this year’s election will be the third direct presidential vote for Indonesia, the element of the unknown — and its potential ripple effect — differentiates this one from the others, leaving analysts uneasy about the outcome.

Elections in the politically binary United States provide voters with an effective either-or choice for presidential candidates each cycle. Although there is always a small percentage who casts a “vote of principle” for a minority party, the public knows to expect a winner from one of the two majority parties.

Jakarta. Both presidential candidates and their running mates will file their net worth reports this week for audit by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Hatta Rajasa were scheduled to appear on Wednesday, with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate Joko Widodo and his running mate JusufKalla scheduled for the day after.

“[We're] inviting the candidates [to the KPK headquarters],” commission spokesman Johan Budi said on Tuesday.

Jakarta. The National Awakening Party, or PKB, has set a goal to win at least 75 percent of the votes in East Java province for presidential and vice presidential candidates Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla in the July 9 election, according to party chairman Muhaimin Iskandar.

Muhaimin, who is also the minister for manpower and transmigration, said all of the party’s members and volunteers must act in order to achieve this goal.

Jakarta. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is seen losing his firm grip on the Democratic Party and its members, according to Yuddy Chrisnandi, a politician of the People’s Conscience Party, or Hanura.

Yudhoyono, who serves as Democratic chairman, has often said that the party would remain neutral ahead of the July 9 presidential election. However, some members have decided to express their personal support to Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta. Both candidates running for president in the July 9 election appear to have a spotless record on corruption, but the baggage brought by the parties in their respective coalitions could prove their undoing, an antigraft activist warns.

Jakarta. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) presidential candidate Joko Widodo accepted the endorsement of the Indonesian Farmers’ Association (HKTI) on Monday at the organization’s anniversary celebration at Balai Kartini convention center in South Jakarta, despite Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party candidate Prabowo Subianto’s longtime association with the group.

Although the July 9 presidential election features just two competing candidates, the General Elections Commission (KPU) is anticipating the possibility of a second round of voting as required by the current Presidential Election Law.

The KPU said on Thursday that in order to be declared the winner in the presidential election, a candidate must receive at least 50 percent-plus-one of the votes, while also garnering a minimum of 20 percent of the votes in more than 17 provinces.

Jakarta. The campaign season for Indonesia’s presidential election enters a new phase this week with the media and observers alike speculating on who may occupy key cabinet posts, whichever candidate wins the race.

The strikingly different campaign teams behind the two tickets vying for the presidency offer a glimpse of which supporting members are most likely to become cabinet officials for the 2014-2019 period, in line with previous elections that saw the winners recruit most of their ministers from the very teams responsible for their victory.