Thousands protest Indonesian parliament’s move to subvert court ruling, pave way for Jokowi’s son to contest in local elections

 “LIGHTNING FAST” ATTEMPT TO OVERTURN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT DECISION

The protestors are opposing parliament’s attempt to pass a bill approved by the House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg), which aims to annul the Constitutional Court’s decision on Tuesday.

The court had removed the threshold for political parties, or coalitions of parties, to be able to nominate candidates for local heads in the November elections. It ruled that the 20 per cent threshold of legislative seats in the regional council, or 25 per cent of the popular vote, would not be applicable in the local elections. 

The court ruling meant that a party or a coalition of parties may nominate a candidate for regional head even if it does not have seats in the regional parliament or DPRD.

The decision opened the door for Mr Anies, who lost to Mr Prabowo in February’s presidential election, to become a Jakarta gubernatorial candidate again. He was governor of the capital from 2017 to 2022. 

Mr Anies has, in recent days, been abandoned by parties that supported him months ago, after the parties joined Mr Prabowo’s Advanced Indonesia Coalition (KIM).

Now dubbed KIM Plus, the coalition of 12 parties is backing former West Java governor and Golkar Party cadre Ridwan Kamil as Jakarta gubernatorial candidate. The position of Jakarta governor is highly coveted as it is seen as a potential stepping stone to the presidency.

The Constitutional Court’s decision meant that Mr Anies stood a chance of being endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – the remaining party not in KIM Plus – for the gubernatorial race. Prior to the ruling, the PDI-P did not meet the 20-per-cent threshold of legislative seats to nominate a gubernatorial candidate on its own.

The constitutional court also ruled on Tuesday that gubernatorial candidates have to be at least 30 years of age at the time they register to run for elections, in contrast to an earlier decision by the Supreme Court that the age requirement would only apply at the time of inauguration. 

Its ruling would close the door on Mr Kaesang Pangarep – Jokowi’s youngest child – running for governor of Central Java this November, as he will only turn 30 in December.

The court rulings were widely praised by activists and academics as a win for democracy. But the activists’ joy was short-lived.