Large-scale protests erupted across Indonesia on Thursday, August 22, in response to the government’s attempt to revise the regional election (Pilkada) law. Protesters demanded that the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) immediately halt the revision process, arguing that it violates the constitution.
In several instances, the police fired tear gas at the protesters, causing injuries. In central Java, students stormed the office of the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) after the police arrested one of the protesters, Kompas reported. Protesters in Jakarta were joined by leading intellectuals, academics and celebrities, who expressed concerns about the revisions being carried out without any public consultation.
The call to protest was initiated by leftist groups after the government attempted to overturn a recent Constitutional Court (MK) ruling contesting the current administration’s plans for the Pilkada Bill. Students and civil society movements in Indonesia have descried these actions by the government as attempts to undermine the people’s right to contest in elections.
Ilham Syah, secretary of the Labor Party, told Peoples Dispatch that a Labor Party lawsuit contributed to the MK’s judgment, which adjusted the minimum requirements for filing nominations in regional head elections. According to Syah, any attempt by the DPR to revise the MK judgment would violate the constitution, as the decisions of the MK are binding and final.
The DPR process was an attempt to disobey the MK’s decision, ultimately harming people’s right to contest elections, according to Syah. This led the Labor Party to call for demonstrations on Wednesday, which were joined on Thursday by tens of thousands of students and other pro-democracy forces.
Widodo’s nepotism
Outgoing President Widodo’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, is expected to run for regional head in the Central Java constituency. Although he is widely considered inexperienced, he is still being promoted as a candidate in elections expected to take place in November.
Activists claim that although Widodo is the first president of independent Indonesia to come from outside the established political elites, he has sought to entrench his family in the country’s politics since taking power in 2014. He is also alleged to have promoted his elder son, a vice-presidential candidate, during the presidential elections in February this year.
The MK ruling revised the age-related criteria for regional head elections. According to the revised rules, a candidate’s age would be determined at the time of nomination rather than at the time of inauguration after the elections. This revision effectively disqualifies Pangarep, leading activists to claim that the hurried DPR attempts to introduce the Pilkada Bill are, in fact, efforts to undermine the constitution in order to favor certain powerful people.
Dian Maria Blandina, a medical doctor and activist with the People’s Health Movement told Peoples Dispatch that at “the heart of the agitation is anger against the arbitrary actions and law violations that the president has done for the advantage of the elites in the country.” She is worried that the disregard for laws by the ruling elite in the country might be more serious now than it was in 1998. There is a “complete denial of people’s actual needs,” which necessitates more coordinated actions like those on Thursday, Blandina said.
Following the demonstrations, the DPR postponed the plenary meeting where revisions to the Pilkada regulations were planned, citing a lack of quorum. Later in the evening, it was announced that the process had been canceled. However, activists remain apprehensive that the DPR could attempt to resume the revision process in the future.
