Court's Ruling on Presidential Candidate Eligibility Is Tragedy of Democracy, Says Observer
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16 October 2023 22:35 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A political observer from Al Azhar University, Ujang Komarudin, suspected a structured, systematic, and massive plan behind the Constitutional Court’s rulings on the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates, which was rendered on Monday, October 16, 2023.
The Constitutional Court ruled against lowering the minimum age for presidential and vice presidential candidates to 35 from 40 years but allowed anyone who has served or been elected as a regional leader to become a presidential or vice president candidate.
Ujang argued that the rulings were made to pave the way for President Joko Widodo or Jokowi's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to run in the 2024 Presidential Election.
"This is a terrible tragedy for democracy. It looks like the Constitutional Court has conceded,” Ujang said in a voice message to Tempo on Monday, October 16, 2023. “The Constitutional Court judges should act like statesmen, but the decision is only for the Jokowi family.”
He likened the Constitutional Court's decision to a high-level political game, concluding that legal institutions could still be controlled by parties in power.
Constitutional Court’s ruling on the presidential candidate eligibility
The Constitutional Court headed by Chief Justice Anwar Usman today read out five decisions on the eligibility of presidential candidates. The court said it rejected the petition filed by the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), the Garuda Party, and three regional heads to lower the minimum presidential age to 35.
In the next decision, however, the court said there could be an exception for those who have held or been elected as regional leaders. The decision in petition No. 90/PUU-XXI/2023 filed by a Surakarta University student, Almas Tsaqibbiru, automatically invalidated the previous decisions.
Monday's rulings could open the door for Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 36-year-old mayor of Solo and nephew of the chief justice, to run in the 2024 presidential election. Gibran has been proposed by the Crescent Star Party (PBB) as Prabowo Subianto's running mate.
DANIEL A. FAJRI
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