...if (the elections are completed in a) single round, after February, the monetary (sector) will be good again. However, if there are two rounds, we will have to wait until June.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - A senior economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), Aviliani, has said that single round general elections will be better for the monetary sector.

Investors are currently applying a wait-and-see approach because they do not yet know who will be elected president and what their policies will be, she noted.

“Thus, if (the elections are completed in a) single round, after February, the monetary (sector) will be good again. However, if there are two rounds, we will have to wait until June,” she said at the Indef Women Economists Discussion, which was followed online on Thursday.

Meanwhile, capital outflows are also at risk of remaining high due to the political year.

Taking note of this, she expressed the hope that the presidential and vice presidential candidates would support the peaceful conduct of elections.

“It is hoped that the general elections will be peaceful so that there is no worry among businesspersons in investing,” she said.

Head of retail research at Sinarmas Sekuritas, Ike Widiawati, also noted that single-round general elections would be far better for market stability.

She noted that single-round general elections could push the IDX Composite to a level of 7,700.

She explained that if general elections continue to the second round, it would raise concerns among businesspersons.

This is because the continuation of the elections to the second round would mean that the political uncertainty would last for a longer period of time. Meanwhile, if the next president is elected in the first round, political stability would be achieved more quickly, thereby creating market certainty.

Meanwhile, according to the Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Aida S. Budiman, two-round general elections will have a greater impact on consumption, namely of around 0.6 percent.

Indonesia will hold the general elections on February 14, 2024. Around 204.8 million people are expected to cast their ballot in the election.

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Translator: Imamatul Silfia, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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