Police officers watch the protesters outside the parliament in Jakarta on Aug. 22, 2024. - Bloomberg
JAKARTA: Indonesian lawmakers adjourned a meeting amid online and street protests against electoral changes that would effectively favour the alliance of President Joko Widodo and his successor, Prabowo Subianto.
Stocks and the rupiah fell on Thursday (Aug 22) morning, as the central Jakarta police chief said at least 3,200 police personnel have been deployed across the city in case of clashes. Protest groups pledged to gather thousands of demonstrators, and shortly after 10am in Jakarta, the deputy speaker announced parliament would adjourn for the day.
The backlash comes after a parliamentary panel on Wednesday rushed through draft legislation that would undercut the Constitutional Court, which on Aug 20 issued a landmark ruling that maintained age limits and took steps to ensure smaller parties can run in regional elections in November.
Celebrity actors and singers shared an "emergency warning” image online, with thousands using the hashtag #KawalPutusanMK, calling for a defence of the court decision, which many see as supporting Indonesia’s young democracy.
Lawmakers now want to change the law to effectively allow Jokowi’s 29-year-old youngest son to run to be a regional deputy governor, while reinstating thresholds that could enable Prabowo and Jokowi allies to run virtually uncontested in elections in Central Java and Jakarta.
But the plenary meeting was adjourned, with deputy speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad saying it had failed to assemble a quorum. Lawmakers from PDI-P, which is the single biggest party, appear to have boycotted proceedings and plan to file a memorandum of objection.
Parliament would have to push through the legislation before a Monday deadline for nominations for the November elections.
Indonesian assets were hit by the tumult in early Asian trading. The benchmark stock gauge fell as much as 1% before paring its loss, while the rupiah extended a decline to trade 0.5% weaker against the greenback, the worst performer among Asian currencies.
Jokowi, whose eldest son will become vice president in October, sought to downplay the crisis.
"We respect the authority and decisions of each state institution,” Jokowi said in a televised address late Wednesday.
"This is a constitutional process that usually happens in our state institutions.”
Labour Party head Said Iqbal said thousands of workers will rally across Indonesian cities to protest against the proposed law revisions, according to Bloomberg Technoz, a partnership between PT Berita Mediatama Indonesia and Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News.
While lawmakers are being criticised for pushing the changes, there’s widespread online praise for the Constitutional Court, which last year was vilified when - in a ruling chaired by Jokowi’s brother-in-law - it tweaked age rules to let the president’s son run for vice president.
Even before the parliamentary panel approved draft legislation, there were warnings that the Constitutional Court’s decision should be respected.
"This is dangerous for the government,” Indonesia’s former Vice President Jusuf Kalla said in an interview before the committee’s decision on Wednesday. Kalla, who served in Jokowi’s first five-year term, warned there could be riots.
"Let’s say this causes a political crisis, at a time when our economy is also in a difficult state.” - Bloomberg
