Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, better known as 'Jokowi,' officially announced that he is going to run for president this July.
Reports about his possible candidacy had been circulating but now that it is official, Indonesia's political and economic balance of power is bound to change.
Seen as a 'natural' candidate for national office since he was mayor of Surakarta (Central Java), within hours his announcement pushed the Indonesian rupiah to its highest point against the US dollar, with shares gaining as well.
Liked by ordinary Jakartans but loathed by Islamic extremists for his moderate views and for picking a Christian, Basuki Tjahaja Purnawa, as his running mate, Jokowi has taken major steps against lobbies, graft and waste whilst raising the minimum wage.
Jokowi's decision to run for president has also jolted the 12 parties running in the April parliamentary elections and the July presidential vote.
Former General Prabowo Subianto, from the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party, was until now the odds-on favourite, ahead of Golkar's Aburizal Bakrie.
The election campaign for the 9 April parliamentary election officially starts only tomorrow but all eyes are on the July presidential poll.
With Jokowi running, the race for Indonesia's foremost office becomes more uncertain, and could favour the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party (PDIP) of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's founding father and first president Sukarno.
As Harry Tjan Silalahi, from the Indonesian Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told AsiaNews a few months ago, "if he chooses to run, Jokowi could probably win in the first round."