Jakarta - Special Advisor to the President for Economic Affairs and senior economist Bambang Brodjonegoro projected that the national economy grew above 5 percent throughout last year thanks to the implementation of general elections (pemilu) and regional head elections (pilkada).
"My estimate (of the domestic economy in) 2024 as a whole will still be above 5 percent... the election factor is important in helping the economy in 2024 to be above 5 percent," said Bambang Brodjonegoro in Jakarta, Tuesday.
He said that the projection was based on national economic growth reaching 5.11 percent in the first quarter; 5.05 percent in the second quarter; and 4.95 percent in the third quarter according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
BPS also noted that the Indonesian economy in the first semester of 2024 grew 5.08 percent compared to the first semester of 2023.
Meanwhile, economic growth in the second semester of 2024 and the full year of 2024 will only be announced by BPS on Wednesday (5/2).
Bambang stated that national economic growth in the first semester of 2024 was driven by the holding of legislative and presidential and vice presidential elections in February 2024.
Just like the previous semester, he said that domestic economic growth in the second semester of 2024 was also influenced by the implementation of the democratic party, namely the regional elections which were held simultaneously in all regions last year in November 2024.
"We are helped in 2024 by the election and the election is not once, but twice, namely the legislative election in February which has a direct impact on (economic growth) in the first half (first semester of 2024). And the second election is the regional election," he said.
In addition to holding the democratic party, Bambang said that Indonesia's economic growth is also driven by the celebration of religious holidays, such as the holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr in the first semester of 2024 and Christmas in the second semester of 2024.
He said that Indonesia's economic growth last year was highly dependent on domestic economic activities because the world economic conditions were still shrouded in uncertainty and global trade commodity prices were not as high as in previous years.