JAKARTA, Indonesia — Campaigning for Indonesia’s presidential election in April kicked off Sunday, pitting incumbent Joko Widodo against a former military general in the race to lead the world’s third-biggest democracy. Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi, surprised many Indonesians in August by choosing to run alongside conservative Islamic cleric Ma’ruf Amin. The pair will square off against Prabowo and former deputy Jakarta governor Sandiaga Uno, a businessman and private equity tycoon. The first major survey by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) after candidate registration closed showed Jokowi and Amin with 52 percent support ahead of Prabowo and Uno on 30 percent. Claims of economic mismanagement, along with outright character assassination, are expected to be amplified by viral social media and fake news campaigns.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 23, 2018 04:41 UTC