Jokowi Responds to Issue of Him Building Political Dynasty

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi responded to the rampant issue that he was building a political dynasty, which recently emerged ahead of the Constitutional Court's ruling on the minimum age for presidential and vice presidential candidates.

“Just leave it to the people,” he said shortly after inspecting the harvest in Indramayu, West Java, on Friday, October 13, 2023.

The Constitutional Court was expected to announce its ruling on the judicial review of Law No. 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections on Monday, October 16, three days before the registration period for presidential and vice presidential candidates on October 19-25.

The petitioners asked the court to change the minimum age for presidential and vice presidential candidates from 40 to 35 years old and or to consider the requirement of experience as a regional head.

The petition is under public scrutiny as it is linked to President Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The 36-year-old Mayor of Solo is rumored to be running with presidential contender Prabowo Subianto in the upcoming 2024 general election.

The petition was also lodged by the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), which is now led by Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court is now headed by Anwar Usman, who is Jokowi's brother-in-law.

A human rights advocacy group Setara Institute chairman, Hendardi, said the judicial review was entering a critical and dangerous phase. He strongly suspected that the petition was based on the lust for power of President Jokowi's family and devotees who were determined to promote Gibran as a vice presidential candidate.

“This series of petitions are no longer aimed at upholding the constitutional rights of citizens,” Hendardi said in a press statement on Monday, Oct. 9.

A political observer from Voxpol Center, Pangi Syarwi Chaniago, also said that the court’s ruling in favor of the petitioners may foster a political dynasty. “The problem when the person in power, [for example when] the president's son is nominated, is how to ensure that the elections do not slide into unfairness,” he said at the Parliament Complex in Central Jakarta, on Tuesday, October 10.

Jokowi also refused to talk much when asked about Gibran's chances of becoming Prabowo's vice presidential candidate. “We haven't seen each other for several months,” he said today in Indramayu.

Meanwhile, on Oct. 10, Prabowo Subianto said he accepted the proposal to make Gibran Rakabuming his running mate in the 2024 presidential election. He opined that Gibran’s age would not be a problem if that was the will of the people.

DANIEL A. FAJRI | SULTAN ABDURRAHMAN | ADIL AL HASAN

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