Indonesian court ruling casts shadow over integrity of 2024 election
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[October 17, 2023]
By Kate Lamb and Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Days before candidates officially register for
Indonesia's elections, a game-changing ruling by the nation's
constitutional court has sparked concern over the integrity of the vote
in the world's third-largest democracy.
On Monday, the court removed the 40 years minimum age requirement for
presidential or vice-presidential candidates if they had previously been
elected to regional posts, potentially opening the way for President
Joko Widodo's 36-year-old son to contest.
The ruling, issued by a court headed by the president's brother-in-law,
has raised fears of a resurgence of patronage politics in a country that
only 25 years ago emerged from the authoritarian rule of strongman
leader Suharto.
"I don't think there is a single person in Indonesia who wasn't aware
the application was fundamentally about whether the president's son
could run as a vice presidential candidate," said Tim Lindsey, an expert
in Indonesian law at the University of Melbourne.
The court and the presidential palace did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
The Southeast Asian nation will hold simultaneous presidential and
legislative election on Feb. 14 next year. Jokowi, as the president is
known, is ineligible to run after serving the maximum two terms.
But Monday's ruling paves the way for his eldest son and mayor of
Surakarta city, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
The decision comes amid rampant speculation the president - once lauded
for breaking the mould of the Suharto-era old guard - is lining up his
son to become the vice-presidential running mate of Defence Minister
Prabowo Subianto, who is now leading in the polls.
Gibran is one of the strongest potential running mates for Prabowo, an
official at the former general's Gerindra party said on Tuesday.
Analysts say Jokowi's support will provide a significant boost for
Prabowo, Suharto's former son-in-law and also the son of a former
cabinet minister.
The Indonesian leader was earlier seen likely to be hedging his bets
between the top two contenders for president, but the analysts said the
court decision implies he will back Prabowo.
Prabowo, 72, lost to Jokowi in the previous two presidential elections.
"It's a scandalous decision because many Indonesians see it as the court
losing independence, and a conflict of interest and intimidation leading
it to allow the current president, who can't sit for a third term, make
up for that by building a dynasty," said Lindsey.
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Ganjar Pranowo, Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP)
candidate in the 2024 presidential election, talks with Indonesian
President Joko Widodo, as they attend the party's national meeting
in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 29, 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File
Photo
The decision, said Bivitri Susanti of Indonesia's Jentera School of
Law, was "worse than Suharto".
SITTING 'DODO'
As the popular leader of the Southeast Asia's largest economy,
analysts say Jokowi has been maneuvering behind the scenes to
safeguard his legacy and extend his influence beyond his term in
office.
An adept political operator, Jokowi may be betting that his high
approval ratings will help him weather any backlash, but Goenawan
Mohamad, founder of investigative magazine Tempo, said that was a
gamble set to fail.
"In 2024, Jokowi will not be at the centre of power. He will not be
a lame-duck power, he will be a dodo. It is hubris to think that his
popularity will stay intact, or his son will survive the political
revenge," he said.
What is remarkable, analysts say, is that Jokowi has managed to stay
so popular despite critics pointing to a trend of democratic
regression, including the weakening of state institutions.
Judge Saldi Isra, one of four dissenting judges in the nine-judge
bench that issued Monday's rulings, said he was perturbed by the
seemingly contradictory stands taken by his colleagues, who
previously rejected similar petitions.
"This is the first time that I came across an extraordinarily
strange event, which can be described as beyond the limits of fair
reasoning," he said.
Elections in Indonesia are often colourful and boisterous, and
invariably followed by election disputes, applications for which are
filed at the constitutional court.
"The court decision has destroyed the people's trust in an
independent judiciary and any future political dispute will easily
tear the country apart," said Tempo's Goenawan.
The Jakarta Post, Indonesia's leading English-language daily, said
in an editorial: "We must raise a red flag over the probity of the
upcoming election. The game appears rigged to give certain players
the upper hand."
(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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