By Ananda Teresia and Kate Lamb
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia President Joko Widodo on Wednesday said he respected decisions of the country’s institutions, amid a move by his allies in parliament to try to reverse a court decision that changed qualification criteria for regional elections.
His remarks come during a rare power struggle between Indonesia’s parliament and the judiciary, with legislators allied with Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto seeking to roll back a court decision on Tuesday that could allow one of their biggest critics to run for the high-profile post of Jakarta governor.
Parties backing Prabowo and Widodo had on Monday closed ranks to back a single candidate, effectively killing off the popular Anies Baswedan’s chances of being re-elected to the post he held from 2017-2022, with no other party holding enough seats to nominate him.
However, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday significantly lowered the minimum percentage of seats required for a nomination, potentially opening the door for Anies to run.
Jokowi, as the president is known, said he respected decisions of independent bodies in the system of government.
“That’s a constitutional process that happens all the time in our institutions,” he said when asked about the court ruling and lawmakers seeking to reverse it.
The latest political drama comes during a transition period in which Prabowo has been racing to consolidate power ahead of his presidency, having won the election by a massive margin, aided by Jokowi’s tacit backing, popularity and huge political sway after a decade in charge.
Prabowo, 72, last week secured a parliamentary majority and Jokowi has been helping to smooth the way for him, in what is widely seen as a quid-pro-quo that will allow the outgoing leader to retain influence once he makes way.
The court on Tuesday also maintained the minimum age requirement of 30 for candidates contesting an election, which would make Jokowi’s 29-year-old son Kaesang Pangarep ineligible for an upcoming regional contest. Lawmakers have also sought to alter that requirement.
Kaesang has been widely tipped as a potential deputy governor for the province of Central Java. Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka was Prabowo’s running mate and will be vice president in October.
The move to thwart former academic Anies, who lost to Prabowo in the presidential election, was seen by some analysts as a play to deny him a platform to seek the post again in 2029.
Anies had accused Prabowo and the Jokowi administration of colluding to give his rival an unfair advantage, which they deny. Anies has not commented on the move by lawmakers to try to reverse the court decision.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Martin Petty)
