JAKARTA (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Shocking betrayals, new alliances with old enemies, and a controversial court ruling that kicked it all off.
Indonesia was gripped by political drama this past week, which saw Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the elder son of Indonesia President Joko Widodo, propelled from being mayor of Solo to becoming the vice-president candidate on the prominent ticket for elections in February.
Late Sunday (Oct 22) night, Indonesia’s Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, 72, announced he would run for president with Gibran as his teammate. The pair, who are backed by Prabowo’s Indonesia Onward Coalition, are expected to register their candidacies on Wednesday, the last day to do so.
The road to the Prabowo-Gibran ticket started officially on Oct 16, when Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled on several petitions for it to review the minimum age requirement for Indonesia’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, which is set at 40.
The panel of judges, led by Chief Justice Anwar Usman, who is Widodo’s brother-in-law, very early in the proceedings announced that the age limit would be kept.
Critics, who had expected the court to rule in favour of allowing 36-year-old Gibran into the race, cheered the news, but their joy was to be short-lived.
Hours later, in its ruling on another petition, the court said that anyone who has held or currently holds a position elected through general elections, including regional elections, will be allowed to run in the 2024 election, regardless of age.
This meant that Gibran, who has since 2021 been mayor of Surakarta city, also known as Solo, could run despite his age.
Before this, Gibran had not made any announcements about officially registering for the election, but tell-tale signs had been there.
In recent months, politicians supporting the presidential campaign of Prabowo have asked for Gibran to be his running mate.
Such a move would likely boost Prabowo’s odds of winning, say observers, given the likelihood that Widodo and his supporters will throw their weight behind the minister.
Prabowo has even received the backing of Widodo’s biggest supporter group, ProJo, despite the fact that both men faced off against each other in the 2019 elections.
But going with Prabowo meant Gibran and his father would be betraying their party – the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, which announced in April that its presidential candidate is former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, 54.
PDI-P party chairman Megawati Soekarnoputri responded to the court ruling on Monday night itself, amid wildfire speculation that Gibran would announce his alignment with Prabowo, thereby turning his back on PDI-P.
During a speech at the inauguration of the PDI-P’s Surakarta headquarters, from which Gibran was notably absent, she stressed how important party loyalty was. Megawati also warned members against switching allegiances.
“Many have tried to destroy this party for 32 years. But we continued to exist... These various tests have made us more politically mature,” she said.
Widodo said on Oct 16 that he did not want to comment on the ruling. Legal experts should be the one to assess it, he added, noting that his opinion could be misunderstood as interference.
On the issue of whether his son will run for vice-president, Widodo said candidacy for the nation’s top two posts are determined by political parties.
Previously, Mr Widodo had dismissed criticism that he was building a political dynasty as the end of his term – next October – drew nearer, saying that such matters should be left to “the people”.
Demonstrations by hundreds of Indonesians erupted in Jakarta as well as other cities, to protest against the court ruling they said were undemocratic actions which allowed for political dynasties to be established.
The rallies came and went, but the political machinery ran full steam ahead.
On Oct 19, the opening day for registrations, the first two pairs of candidates for the country’s top posts wasted no time and submitted their applications.
Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, 54 and his running mate, National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar, 57, were the first to register.
They were followed by the candidates for PDI-P, Ganjar, and Indonesia’s Security Minister Mahfud MD, 66.
Even as his opponents revelled in the carnival-like atmosphere at the General Elections Commission of Indonesia (KPU) where they registered, high-fiving supporters and posing for myriad photos, Prabowo stayed mum for the next few days on who his running mate was going to be.
Political observers speculated that the backlash had put Prabowo in two minds about picking Gibran as his running mate. Insiders say he was being lobbied to instead partner with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, one of Widodo’s closest allies and considered a safe choice to rally support.
Another name floated to Prabowo was popular 58-year-old East Java governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa, an ex-minister who is one of Indonesia’s most prominent female politicians.
Speculation intensified last Thursday when word got round that Widodo cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia and returned on Friday, a whole day earlier than intended. Talk within the political circles was that the president flew back to dispel any doubts Prabowo had about teaming up with his son.
By late Sunday night, the matter had been put to rest. Gibran would be partnering with Widodo’s former rivals in the election. And they will be taking on the party that backed his father to become the country’s leader for the past nine years.
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