Past and future

The Indonesian archipelago is currently facing a range of issues. There is the sluggish economy for one, which depends heavily on the exploitation of natural resources, but lacks the necessary processing capabilities. There is also the completely inadequate infrastructure, considered one of the main obstacles to foreign investment.

In addition, the country's ailing education system is made up of a myriad of deficient state schools and a handful of overpriced private ones. And above all, corruption is rampant throughout the whole country. These are all pressing issues in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

But when the 186 million Indonesian voters head to the polling stations on July 9, the manifestos of the contending parties will only play a small part, as their campaigns have mainly focused on the candidates. The vote pits the governor of Jakarta, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, the candidate of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan), and the former general, Prabowo Subianto, who has the backing of four political parties.

Widodo is a carpenter's son who dresses casually and pays unannounced visits to the public authorities to check on their work. Jokowi, as his nickname goes, is happy to portray himself as modest and understanding, but also as someone determined to fight mismanagement and corruption.

Jan Woischnik, head of the Jakarta office of the German foundation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, says that Jowoki stands as "the person for further development and consolidation of democracy. As mayor of Solo and governor of Jakarta Jokowi has shown that he can stand up to social injustices."

Jokowi is worshipped by his followers almost as a savior. But Woischnik doubts the 53-year-old politician will be able to solve all the problems of this vast and complex country within just a few months. "Therefore, his supporters may face disillusionment one year into his mandate."

Former general Prabowo Subianto, however, has embraced a very different image of himself. During his campaign appearances, the often irascible and short-tempered son of ex-dictator Suharto presents himself as a strong leader. Sometimes he flies into the rallies in a helicopter; sometimes he rides on horseback into the arena, leaving his diligent uniformed troopers standing to attention.

A Nazi-themed music video, allegedly in support of Prabowo, caused an international outcry last month. The clip depicts the former general as a strong man, with music adapted from Queen's "We Will Rock You" and performers dressed in uniforms similar to those worn by the Nazi SS troops.

"He is the complete opposite of Jokowi," says Woischnik. "He is a product of the Suharto era" - a dictatorship that ended in 1998 with a military coup. "Prabowo's thinking was marked by the events of this time." But there is more: Human rights activists blame him for a massacre in Indonesian-occupied in East Timor in the 1980s and for the abduction and torture of anti-Suharto activists in 1998. Following Suharto's ousting, Prabowo fled to Jordan. Upon his return he created his own party, which had no specific goal other than to bring him to power.

Open race

Wednesday's election is expected to be a neck-and-neck race, say observers. Until recently, Jokowi had maintained a comfortable lead, but the latest opinion polls show his advantage hs narrowed to a meager three to four percent. Analyst Woischnik is of the view that Jokowi has probably relied to heavily on his numbers, while Prabowo's extremely engaging campaign seems to have gone down well with voters.

However, it is too soon to say what a Prabowo win could mean for the country, says Woischnik. During the campaign, Prabowo has always given the impression that, if elected president, the country could face a democratic setback. For example, Prabowo said that "direct elections are not a part of the Indonesian culture and are a Western product," says Woischnik. Observers say that in case of an electoral win, a much more authoritarian style of government could be imposed which would see a possible clampdown on political freedoms and a declining tolerance towards ethnic and religious minorities.

Smear campaigns

A taste of what might lie ahead has already been given by the Prabowo campaign team. The debates between the candidates have become personal and dirty. Jokowi, a moderate Muslim, was first vilified by Prabowo followers as a "communist" in social networks, then called "Christ" and finally dubbed an "ethnic Chinese." Jokowi's supporters countered, portraying Prabowo as a psychopath and repeatedly pointing to the alleged human rights violations for which he was responsible during Suharto's dictatorship.

The actual political content of the campaigns faded from the spotlight, with both candidates remaining vague on their agenda. While Jokowi talks about education and jobs, Prabowo promises a stronger and more self-confident Indonesia.

In terms of economic policy, they both advocate more protectionism and want the country to depend less on foreign investors. However, the campaign is ultimately designed to revolve around two main candidates, their style of government and their vision for the country. It's up to Indonesians to decide which of these two visions will prevail.