TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations Human Rights Committee (CCPR) member Bacre Waly Ndiaye questioned President Joko Widodo's or Jokowi’s alleged intervention in the 2024 presidential elections. The committee also noted the last-minute court ruling that changed the eligibility criteria for presidential candidates. The ruling made way for Jokowi’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka to become the vice presidential candidate for Prabowo Subianto.

The question was raised at the CCPR session in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, which was aired on UN TV Web. Representatives of CCPR member states, including delegates from Indonesia, were present.

In the three-hour session, Ndiaye - who is a member of the UN Human Rights Committee from Senegal - asked about several human rights issues in Indonesia including the rights of citizens in Papua to anti-terrorism laws.

Ndiaye initially mentioned the Constitutional Court's decision to change the age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates, which paved the way for Gibran to advance to the presidential election. He questioned what measures could prevent the government to the highest institution such as the president from unduly influencing the 2024 election results.

"Are allegations of undue influence under investigation?” said Ndiaye.

Indonesian representatives led by the Director General of Multilateral Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tri Tharyat did not answer questions about the election. During the answering session, the Indonesian delegation answered other questions such as the alleged military deployment to Papua, freedom of religion, the Panji Gumilang case, and the Haris-Fathia case.

The Indonesian delegation also answered Ndiaye's inquiry about the political rights of indigenous Papuans which was asked alongside Gibran’s candidacy.

Tri Tharyat has not answered Tempo's question regarding Ndiaye's inquiry on the alleged intervention during the 2024 election. So did Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lalu M. Iqbal and Presidential Special Staff Coordinator Ari Dwipayana.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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