Jakarta – The Constitutional Court on Monday dismissed several motions aimed at preventing Prabowo Subianto from entering the 2024 presidential election.
The plaintiffs cited Prabowo's past human rights record, his age, and previous unsuccessful presidential bids as reasons to bar him from the upcoming election.
Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman said the motions lacked legal standing. A specific request to cap the age of presidential candidates at 70 was also rejected, as it resembled a similar motion that had been ruled upon the previous week.
"We hereby reject the motions by the plaintiffs in their entirety," Anwar said in the hearing streamed live by the court.
The plaintiffs had asked the court to amend an article of the 2017 general election law, limiting the age of presidential and vice-presidential candidates to 70. Prabowo celebrated his 72nd birthday the previous week.
They argued that since the article sets a minimum age of 40, it should also establish an upper age limit. They referenced a regulation that restricts the age of Supreme Court and Constitutional Court justices to 70.
Rudy Hartono, one of the plaintiffs, pointed out that no Indonesian president had assumed office beyond the age of 70.
However, the nine-justice court ruled that the article couldn't be further amended after it was revised the previous week. This controversial revision favored Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
The justices voted 5 to 4 to maintain the minimum age of 40 but added the phrase "or has served or is serving a public position through general elections, including regional government leader elections."
Gibran, at 36 years old, became eligible to be Prabowo's running mate because he had served as the elected mayor of Solo for two years. As a result, the article regarding candidates' age requirements is "no longer subject to legal motion".
Another motion that aimed to bar a candidate from running for president after two unsuccessful attempts was rejected due to insufficient legal grounds. Prabowo had been defeated by Jokowi in the previous two presidential elections.
The last motion against Prabowo's candidacy was related to his alleged involvement in the 1998 kidnapping of human rights and democracy activists when he served as the commander of the Army's elite unit, Kopassus (Special Force Command). The plaintiffs argued that a person implicated in gross human rights violations shouldn't be allowed to assume the presidential position.
However, the panel rejected the motion, citing a "lack of descriptions about gross human rights violations." The court also mentioned the potential violation of the principle of the presumption of innocence if the motion were accepted. Prabowo has never been convicted of human rights violations by the criminal court.