Jokowi in 'blusukan' or impromptu visit mode in final year of presidency

Jokow takes a selfie with residents welcoming him to Wamena, Papua, in this file photo from 2019. - Indonesian Presidential Palace/AFP

JAKARTA: With less than a year left in office and campaign activities for next year’s presidential election in full swing, President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has made a series of visits to eastern Indonesia that critics say show an inability to keep an appropriate distance from electoral politics.

While the President is constitutionally barred from seeking reelection next year, his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka is running as a vice presidential candidate alongside presidential frontrunner Prabowo Subianto, a former rival of Jokowi’s who is now portraying himself as the President’s rightful successor.