Direct poll vote: Joko may win support from opposition

Jakarta

A PLANNED vote in Indonesia's parliament to re-establish direct elections of regional heads next month is shaping up as a potential stepping stone to broader cooperation between the ruling party of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and opposition parties.

In recent weeks, Mr Joko's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has been in talks with the Democratic Party of his predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to ensure passage of a bill next month that will reinvest Indonesians with the right to elect their governors and other local leaders, said PDI-P deputy secretary Hasto Kristiyanto.