By Kate Lamb and Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s parliament on Thursday postponed ratification of changes to an electoral law amid protests in several cities following an outcry against a law designed to strengthen the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo.
The plenary session to adopt the amendments was postponed due to lack of a quorum, MP Habiburokhman told reporters outside the parliament building.
It is unclear whether parliament will reconvene to pass the law before registration for regional elections begins next Tuesday.
Parliament was seeking to ratify changes that would have overturned a Constitutional Court ruling earlier this week. The changes would have blocked a vocal government critic from running for the influential post of Jakarta governor and also paved the way for Widodo’s youngest son to run in elections in Java in November.
The power struggle between parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world’s third-largest democracy and in the home stretch of the president’s second term.
Widodo downplayed the concerns, saying on Wednesday that the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of a usual mechanism of checks and balances.
The Interior Minister said the changes were intended to create legal certainty.
More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the parliament building in Jakarta and in several cities on Java on Thursday. Some held banners accusing Jokowi of destroying democracy. Authorities fired tear gas at protesters in Semarang, according to footage from Kompas TV.
“This is the height of my contempt,” said Afif Sidik, a 29-year-old teacher who joined the protest outside parliament.
“This is a republic. It is a democracy, but if its leadership is determined by a single person or an oligarch, we cannot accept that.”
Legal experts and political analysts speak of a power struggle that borders on a constitutional crisis.
Election analyst Titi Anggraini described the maneuver as “constitutional insubordination.”
The street protests were preceded by a wave of criticism on the internet. Numerous blue posters with the words “Emergency Warning” above the Indonesian national eagle circulated on social media.
The rupee and Jakarta’s main stock index collapsed by midday Thursday, affected by concerns about protests and the country’s widening current account deficit.
“THIS IS A POWER STRUGGLE”
The Constitutional Court on Tuesday abolished the mandatory minimum age limit for nominating candidates in regional elections and maintained the minimum age limit of 30 for candidates.
This ruling effectively blocks the candidacy of the president’s 29-year-old son for the post of deputy governor of Central Java and would allow current favorite Anies Baswedan to run in Jakarta.
But within 24 hours, Parliament presented an emergency revision to repeal the changes.
All parties except one, the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), have agreed to the revision of the law.
“Indonesian democracy is once again at a crucial crossroads,” Anies posted on social media platform X, urging lawmakers to remember that their fate is in their hands.
Parliament is currently dominated by a coalition consisting of representatives of the outgoing president, commonly known as Jokowi, and President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
Prabowo, who won a landslide victory in February’s elections, will be sworn in on October 20 with Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his vice president.
Jokowi is facing increasing criticism for the increasingly brazen way in which his government is consolidating its power and for creating its own political dynasty.
“The Constitutional Court’s ruling is final and binding,” said Bivitri Susanti of the Jentera School of Law.
“It is not possible for the legislature to disregard the decisions of the judiciary. This is a power struggle.”
Jokowi was first elected to government in 2014 and was hailed as a hero of democracy at the time, largely because he was seen as detached from the country’s entrenched oligarchy and military elite.
The president has been praised for his solid economic record but has faced increasing criticism over the democratic decline of the country’s institutions during his ten years in office.
(Additional reporting by Stanley Widianto and Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by John Mair and Stephen Coates)
