Unraveling the Image Politics of Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Indonesia 2024: Outdoor Advertisement Critical Discourse Analysis

During Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election, a notable political trend was the extensive use of billboards to convey candidates' ideologies, highlighting a significant linguistic and cultural landscape. These billboards visually represented the intricate layers of political discourse and the nuanced divisions between Nationalist and Islamist ideologies within three major political coalitions: Koalisi Perubahan (Anies Baswedan -- Muhaimin Iskandar), Koalisi Indonesia Maju (Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka), and Koalisi Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD. This multi-year, nested case study investigates how these ideologies were depicted, challenged, and obscured on billboards. By analyzing six purposefully selected billboards representing presidential candidates and their running mates from each coalition, this CDA study aims to unravel the complexities of image politics in Indonesia. Applying Visual Social Semiotics by Kress and Leeuwen, preliminary findings reveal Koalisi Perubahan’s resistance to the status quo’s nationalist ideal of "Indonesia Emas," i.e., empowering Indonesian human resources in industrial and green economic sectors. Koalisi Indonesia Maju advocates for "Indonesia Emas" as a catalyst for national progress, while the third coalition promotes "Indonesia Emas" through Z Generation empowerment amidst elite patronage dissent.

Keywords: Indonesia’s 2024 Presidential Election, billboards, CDA, Visual Social Semiotics, three major political coalitions.