Dr Ian Wilson is a Senior Lecturer in International Politics and Security Studies, Academic Chair of the Global Security Program and Co-Director of the Indo-Pacific Research Centre at Murdoch University, Western Australia.
He was previously Visiting Fellow at the Indonesia Studies Programme, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
By the end of 2023, there will be 271 interim regional heads who are appointed rather than elected, constituting over half of the regional leadership posts throughout Indonesia. These handpicked interim leaders are well-positioned to use the advantages of incumbency to promote central government interests at the expense of others in the 2024 elections.
The appointment of a caretaker governor for Jakarta might come across as a routine procedure. In the case of Heru Budi Hartono, however, his employment of a politically partisan approach throws up initial indications of the battle lines going into the 2024 presidential elections.