People attend a protest outside the Indonesian Parliament against the revisions to the country’s election law, which analysts believe goes through a rushed process of legislation and is designed to block a popular candidate from running as the capital’s governor in Jakarta, Indonesia, on August 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Indonesia’s parliament has postponed the ratification of controversial changes to its elections law that had initially been scheduled for Thursday, due to a lack of quorum, legislator Habiburokhman told reporters.
It was not immediately clear when the ratification would take place. The changes would have blocked a vocal government critic in the race for the influential post of Jakarta governor, and also paved the way for President Joko Widodo’s youngest son to run in elections in Java in November.
The parliament had planned to ratify on Thursday morning changes that would have reversed a ruling by the constitutional court earlier this week.
The power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world’s third-largest democracy, and in the final stretch of the president’s second term.
Mr. Widodo downplayed the concerns, saying on Wednesday the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of the standard “checks and balances” of government.
But legal experts and political analysts have described the events as bordering on a constitutional crisis.
Elections analyst Titi Anggraini characterised the manoeuvre as “constitutional insubordination” that had the potential to stir unrest.
The political manoeuvres have sparked a wave of criticism online, with blue posters featuring the words “Emergency Warning” above Indonesia’s symbolic national eagle shared widely on social media.
Hundreds of demonstrators dressed in black had gathered outside the parliament building in Jakarta on Thursday, with smaller protests outside the court, and also in the cities of Surabaya and Yogyakarta. Authorities have said 3,000 police have been deployed in the capital.
