Amy Sood – A plan by Indonesia's parliament to override new election rules set by the top court has sparked outrage across the country as protesters gather in Jakarta and other cities to rally against what they perceive as President Joko Widodo's attempt to undermine democracy.
Analysts say the proposal is part of Widodo's efforts to secure the political interests of his family and President-elect Prabowo Subianto.
Protesters gathered on Thursday outside the parliament building in Jakarta with some waving banners accusing Jokowi of destroying democracy. Kompas TV footage shows authorities firing tear gas at protesters in Semarang, the capital of Central Java province. Security forces fired a water cannon outside parliament at protesters, a Reuters witness said.
There were more than 1,000 protesters taking part in demonstrations in the different cities, according to a Reuters report.
Online users including Indonesian celebrities have taken to social media to share an ominous image of the country's national eagle symbol with the words Peringatan Darurat (Emergency Warning). The viral image was shared alongside plans from civil activists to protest against the parliamentary proposal on Thursday and Friday.
On Tuesday, the constitutional court lowered the barrier in terms of party representation for the nomination of candidates for regional elections, enabling smaller parties to run.
The change would enable prominent government critic Anies Baswedan to re-enter the Jakarta gubernatorial race in November after he appeared to have been hampered from doing so because of the previous law, which required parties to have a 20 per cent representation in their regional assemblies to nominate a candidate. Anies has indicated that he intends to contest the election.
The court also upheld the 30-year-old minimum age requirement for regional election candidates. Such an amendment would block Widodo's 29-year-old son Kaesang Pangarep from running for deputy governor of Central Java in November.
However, parliament announced the next day reforms of the election law that would effectively nullify the constitutional court's ruling – once again removing Anies and enabling Kaesang to run in their respective election race. Such a plan would enable Kaesang and his family's allies to run uncontested in the elections in Jakarta and Central Java, analysts say.
On Thursday, Indonesian lawmakers postponed passing the controversial revisions to the election law. However, they have to push through the changes before Monday for the legislation to apply to the November polls.
Thomas Lembong, a former trade minister in Widodo's cabinet, spoke to protesters outside parliament with a loudspeaker, saying: "History shows that once democracy is undermined, once state institutions lose their authority... freedoms will be lost."
Labour Party head Said Iqbal said thousands of workers would rally across Indonesian cities to protest against the proposed revisions. "We only ask for one thing: uphold the decision of the constitutional court," Said told reporters outside parliament.
Widodo has downplayed the crisis, saying in a televised address late Wednesday that the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of the standard "checks and balances" of government.
"We respect the authority and decisions of each state institution," he said. "This is a constitutional process that usually happens in our state institutions."
Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst with the Jakarta-based National Research and Innovation Agency, told This Week in Asia that parliament was displaying an "unconstitutional attitude" in bypassing the constitutional court's final and binding decision.
"This has encouraged a massive movement initiated on social media to get down on the streets to safeguard the [constitutional court's] verdict and see that it is obeyed by parliament."
Democracy under attack
The efforts by the lawmakers to introduce changes and reverse the court's decision are aimed at benefiting Widodo and Kaesang, analysts say.
Widodo, who is stepping down from office in October, has been slammed by his critics for using state institutions to consolidate power and establish his political dynasty.
In October last year, last-minute constitutional changes that enabled Widodo's elder son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to join Prabowo's electoral ticket sparked a public outcry. Like Kaesang, Gibran did not initially meet the minimum age requirement to join the race. Prabowo and Gibran will be sworn into office on October 20.
Nicky Fahrizal, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the consequences of disregarding the court's decision would "undermine the constitution's integrity," and further "degrade" the country's democracy.
"Failure to implement the constitutional court's decision will also prompt serious public concerns about the legal and political legitimacy of regional elections," he said.
Anies is leading opinion polls ahead of the election for the Jakarta governorship, a position he previously held from 2017 to 2022.
On Monday, Anies' campaign suffered a setback when 10 of the 11 parties in the regional legislature threw their support behind former West Java governor Ridwan Kamil, who is backed by a coalition formed by Prabowo.
If Anies were to be pushed out of the race, it would clear the way for Kamil to win the Jakarta governorship, analysts say.
Anies lost to Prabowo in February's presidential election and contested its results, alleging collusion between Prabowo and the Widodo administration. Indonesia's constitutional court has thrown out Anies' legal challenges against the results.
[Additional reporting by Reuters.]