Indonesians have taken to the streets of Jakarta to protest the government’s attempt to reverse a constitutional court ruling.
Protestors gathered outside the parliament on Thursday and attempted to tear down its gates while others shouted for calm.
Police sprayed the crowd with tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse the crowd and prevent them from storming the parliament.
What led to the protests in Indonesia?
On Wednesday, Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled that parties would not need a minimum 20% of representation in their regional assemblies to field a candidate.
However, within 24 hours, the parliament tabled an emergency motion to reverse these changes to the election law.
The legislature was forcefully delayed from passing the law due to failure to reach a quorum.
The parliament’s move led to fears of a constitutional crisis and the people took to the streets to defend their country’s democracy.
If the parliament’s motion passed, it would favour parties in the ruling coalition of the outgoing president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, and his successor Prabowo Subianto. In other words, it would keep local elections as uncontested affairs.
This motion also means that a major government critic, Anies Baswedan, would be prevented from running for the post of Jakarta governor.
The Indonesian government also filed a motion to change the age requirement to run for governor. This would allegedly allow Widodo’s 29-year-old son, Kaesang Pangarep, to run in a regional election in Central Java.
The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the minimum age of 30 would only apply when the candidate who wins takes the oath of office.
However the Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that a candidate has to be 30 at the time they register for election.
This would mean that Kaesang, known for his pisang goreng business, would not qualify to run in the November election as he will only turn 30 in December.
Indonesia’s parliament on Wednesday overturned the Constitutional Court’s ruling which angered many.
Meanwhile, Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, ran alongside Prabowo and was recently elected vice president.
The decision was allegedly made while Widodo’s brother-in-law, Anwar Usman, was serving as chief justice. He was later dismissed for participating in a case involving a close relative.
In response to all this, Widodo downplayed the issue and said the amendments were part of the “checks and balances” of government.
One protestor, Joko Anwar, said the country’s leaders were allegedly intent on keeping themselves in power so the people had no choice but to launch a public protest.
Eventually, we’ll just become a powerless mass of objects, even though we’re the ones who gave them power. We have to take to the streets. We have no choice.
Joko Anwar, one of the protestors
Protests were also reported in other major cities such as Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Makasar.
Yoes Kenawas, a political analyst at Atma Jaya Catholic University, said the people opposed the dynastic politics of President Jokowi.
The protests in the form of a blue poster with the word “Emergency Warning” above Indonesia’s national bird, a Javan hawk-eagle, spread online.
