Unrest Averted for Now as Indonesian Parliament Agrees to New Electoral Rules

University students take part in a protest against a move to overturn a Constitutional Court ruling that changed eligibility rules for candidates in the general election, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Aug. 26, 2024. CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN/AFP via Getty Images

Calm has returned to the streets of Jakarta after Indonesia’s parliament gave the country’s electoral regulator permission to issue new rules that comply with two Constitutional Court rulings.

Parliament had tried to postpone ratifying changes to the election rules last week, causing protesters to attempt to tear down the gates of the legislature and widespread unrest across the country, which was met by police firing teargas and water cannons.

The argument centres on the upcoming regional elections in November. The House of Representatives legislative body, called the Baleg, had drafted revisions to election rules that benefited President Joko Widodo and his allies, notably his youngest son Kaesang Pangarep, who would have been too young to run for the position of deputy governor of Central Java under the existing rules.

A day after the Constitutional Court rejected a petition to change the minimum age for candidates, a parliamentary committee drafted law changes overriding that ruling.

There was already anger over a 2023 decision by the Court, then chaired by the president’s brother-in-law, that amended another set of rules on age limits, allowing his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to become vice president in October.

Threshold Lowered so Smaller Parties Stand a Chance

The other major change in the latest Court ruling, also opposed by Widodo’s allies, is a significant lowering of the threshold for any political party, or alliance of parties, wanting to nominate candidates for provincial and regional leadership positions.

Previously, a party needed to have won 25 percent of the popular vote or 20 percent of the seats in the local legislature. But the decision lifted the requirement for sitting members, and reduced that to between 6.5 and 10 percent depending on the number of voters registered in the respective areas.

That will allow more minor parties not aligned to Widodo and his chosen successor, incoming President Prabowo Subianto, to nominate candidates and potentially take power in regions currently controlled by the Widodo-aligned Onward Indonesia Coalition (KIM) party.

The party that previously supported Widodo and his allies, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), is set to mount one of the strongest challenges to KIM’s dominance now that the restrictions have been lifted.

Opposition to Parliament’s attempt to bypass the Constitutional Court erupted on X last weekend, with roughly half a million posts displaying a blue “emergency warning” image and the hashtag #KawalPutusanMK.

When that spilled into the streets, lawmakers announced that the Court’s ruling would be allowed to stand.

Nominations for the regional positions opened on Aug. 27 and will close on Aug. 29.