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A group of lawyers announced its plan to file a lawsuit against Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo over his decision to run in the upcoming presidential race.

The Advocacy Team for a New Jakarta, which had supported Jokowi during the 2012 gubernatorial election, acknowledged it could not hide its disappointment that Jokowi would be leaving Jakarta without fulfilling his campaign promises.

Jakarta. Indonesia’s raucous election season kicks off on Sunday with the promise of a fresh style of leadership in the world’s third largest democracy, whose economic promise has been sapped by rampant graft, confusing policy and weak rule.

An uncertain election outlook abruptly changed on Friday when the main PDI-P opposition party named the hugely popular governor of Jakarta as its candidate for July’s presidential election. That lifted even further its chances of dominating the parliamentary election on April 9.

Jakarta. The country’s main opposition party has tagged Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo as its presidential candidate for the July 9 election, in a surprise announcement on Friday that brings an end to months of speculation over whether party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri would seek another stab at the presidency.

The Democratic Party will announce its presidential candidate by the end of April or two weeks after the legislative election.

“Wait until the end of April for the results [of the convention],” Democratic Party executive chairman Syarifuddin Hasan said on Saturday as quoted by Antara News Agency.

Syarifuddin was confident that the party would have a presidential candidate that would suit the public, adding that the convention’s participants were not very popular despite being competent.

Gerindra Party chairman Suhardi said his party still believed in its presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto despite the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's (PDI-P) decision to name popular Jakarta Governor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as its candidate.

“The Jokowi candidacy doesn't bother us as we still have confidence  in our own candidate. We believe that Prabowo has won the people’s heart,” Suhardi said as quoted by tempo.co on Saturday.

Jakarta. The General Elections Commission (KPU) on Saturday disqualified a group of Regional Legislative Council (DPD) candidates, and in some cases entire parties, for late or nonexistent campaign finance transparency paperwork submissions. The banned parties and candidates have been barred from participation in the April 9 general elections.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) is ready to become a major party to help lead the country through a combination of its nationalistic and religious forces, head of the PKB's central leadership board, Marwan Jafar, said on Friday.

Marwan said that his party was prepared to play a role in national development.

“We are ready to help lead Indonesia because from a mass organization point of view it represents the Nahdlatul Ulama (the country's largest Muslim organization) and from a political point of view it embodies the PKB," Marwan said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Semarang, C Java (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who will end his term in October 2014, has encouraged the public to support the next government in the progress of the development of the nation.

"Together, all public faculties should support the next president and his government in order to be better, more successful, and more effective in the national development," President Yudhoyono stated during the groundbreaking ceremony of integrated natural gas infrastructure development here on Friday.

The Democratic Party (PD) is prepared to face all possible outcomes in the 2014 general elections, including playing the role of official opposition if they fail to win.

“As a political party, you should prepare for all possible scenarios, including becoming the opposition. And if it comes to that, as Pak SBY [President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] always says, we will be ready,” said strategy and policy development head for the PD central executive board Ulil Abshar Abdalla in Jakarta on Tuesday.