Indonesia protests: What happened? Why have plans to change election law been scrapped?

Indonesia has put off trying to change its election law.

The move came after thousands of protesters attempted to storm parliament on Thursday (August 22).

Police had to resort to water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told reporters in Jakarta that parliament would continue to debate the bill in its next session.

This means the law would not apply to this year’s election or the outgoing administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo – who has served the maximum two terms and demits office in October.

The proposed changes in the election law could have given Widodo even more political power.

But what happened? And what do we know about the law?

Let’s take a closer look:

What happened?

Protests broke out across Indonesia in cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Makassar on Thursday over proposed changes to an election law.

Thousands of protesters, who gathered outside parliament on Thursday, attempted to breach the premises and set ablaze part of the gate.

Some protesters held banners and signs, while others burned tires.

Some claimed Jokowi was destroying democracy, and carried colourful banners and props, including a mock guillotine featuring his face.

“This is the peak of my disdain,” Afif Sidik, a 29-year-old teacher told the website.

“This is a republic. It’s a democracy, but if its leadership is decided by one person, or an oligarch, we can’t accept that.”

Indonesian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd – who tore down a section of fence and threw rocks.

In Yogyakarta, at least 1,000 protesters rallied in front of Yogyakarta’s parliament building, the state palace and the city’s ceremonial center.

Their demands included voting down the regional election bill, respecting the Constitutional Court’s ruling and rejecting political dynasties.

According to Bloomberg, thousands of people including singers and actors shared posts using the hashtag #KawalPutusanMK to demand that the court’s decision be upheld.

What do we know about the law?

The parliament, dominated by a big-tent coalition aligned to Jokowi, and president-elect Prabowo Subianto, planned to ratify changes that would have reversed a ruling by the constitutional court earlier this week.

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday revoked a minimum threshold requirement to nominate candidates in regional elections and kept the minimum age limit of 30 years for candidates.

The court also made it easier for political parties to nominate candidates by cutting back a requirement that they hold 20 per cent of a local legislature.

That ruling effectively blocks the candidacy of the president’s 29-year-old son from contesting the race for deputy governor in Central Java, and would allow Anies Baswedan, the current favourite, to run in Jakarta.

Anies was previously Jakarta governor from 2017 to 2022.

As per SCMP, Anies faces tough competition from ex-West Java governor Ridwan Kamil, who has obtained the backing of 10 of 11 parties in the regional legislature.

Kamil, who also has the support of coalition formed by Prabowo, would win the race easily without a challenge from Anies.

But within 24 hours the parliament had tabled an emergency revision to annul the changes.

Prabowo, who won a landslide victory in February’s elections, will be inaugurated on October 20, with Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his vice-president.

As per Bloomberg, the proposed law would have let Jokowi and Prabowo’s allies run for polls in Central Java and Jakarta without virtually any opposition.

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.

Widodo downplayed the concerns, saying on Wednesday the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of standard “checks and balances.”

The home affairs minister said the changes were intended to provide legal certainty.

Achmad Baidowi, the chairman of the parliament panel, told Bloomberg that lawmakers would reflect on the public outcry.

“History shows that once democracy is undermined, authority is lowered, opportunities to work will be lost,” Thomas Lembong, a former minister in Jokowi’s cabinet, told the protesters as per Bloomberg.

‘Constitutional insurbodination’

Legal experts and political analysts have described the power struggle as bordering on a constitutional crisis.

Elections analyst Titi Anggraini characterized the maneuver as “constitutional insubordination.”

“Indonesian democracy is once again at a crucial crossroads,” Anies posted on social media platform X, urging legislators to remember its fate rested in their hands.

Jokowi is facing mounting criticism for the increasingly bold ways his government is consolidating power, and his nascent political dynasty.

As per Bloomberg, the attempted power play by Jokowi comes after the Constitutional Court last year – at the time chaired by his brother-in-law Anwar Usman – allowed his oldest son Gibran to run for vice-president.

Usman was criticised for participating in a case involving a close relative and later dismissed.

“The ruling of the Constitutional Court is final and binding,” said Bivitri Susanti, from the Jentera School of Law. “It is not possible for the legislative body to violate the judiciary’s ruling. This is a power struggle.”

SCMP quoted Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst with the Jakarta-based National Research and Innovation Agency, as saying parliament was showing an “unconstitutional attitude.”

“This has encouraged a massive movement initiated on social media to get down on the streets to safeguard the [constitutional court’s] verdict and see that it is obeyed by parliament.”

The street protests follow a wave of criticism online, with blue posters featuring the words “Emergency Warning” above Indonesia’s national eagle proliferating on social media.

The simultaneous protests in major cities showed anger at parliament’s efforts to overrule the Constitutional Court decision to allow more candidates to compete in the regional elections, said Yoes Kenawas, a political analyst at Atma Jaya Catholic University.

“They also opposed the dynastic politics carried out by President Jokowi,” Kenawas said.

The rupiah and Jakarta’s main stock index slumped by midday Thursday, hit by concerns of protests as well as the country’s widening current account deficit.

“This raises uncertainty for the business sector as they have to review the level of political and market stability,” Achmad Sukarsono, a Singapore-based associate director at Control Risks, told Bloomberg.

“There’s also higher risk for the student protest to grow larger because now they are getting the backing from political factions that want to see an end to Jokowi’s distasteful power plays.”

Indonesian presidential spokesperson Hasan Nasbi called for calm, and urged protestors to avoid violence, as some scenes showed demonstrators also throwing rocks at parliament in Bandung.

“Indonesia guarantees free speech and open democracy,” Nasbi was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. “The hope is that there shouldn’t be any spread of disinformation, lies and hate that can lead to violence and riots. We need to remain peaceful.”

With inputs from agencies