Indonesian lawmakers have backed away from plans to ignore a constitutional court ruling over a controversial election ruling after demonstrators tried to storm parliament in protest at the proposal.
Supporters of the Constitutional Court have welcomed the ruling with jubilation, but many have warned that the government could push for similar measures to bolster the power of outgoing President Joko Widodo and his successor, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who takes over on October 20.
The constitutional crisis began when the court handed down two key rulings on August 20. The first drastically lowered the nomination standards for candidates to run in local elections, just days before candidate registration was scheduled to take place.
All but one of the major parties now support Prabowo and Widodo, and there were signs that the coalitions were coordinating to all back the same candidate in key local elections, effectively excluding candidates critical of the government from many major contests.
Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, who was seen as a sure bet to win a second term if he ran, appears to be the most likely target, but many candidates from Widodo's former party, the PDI-P, which has now stepped up its opposition to him, are also likely to be affected.
The Constitutional Court's second ruling invalidated a lower court ruling relaxing the minimum age requirement for political candidates.
Critics called the lower court's decision suspect because the only candidate who could be affected by the change was President Joko Widodo's second son, Kaesang Pangarep, who was preparing to run for deputy governor of Central Java province.
Faced with this double blow, Indonesia's pro-government dominated parliament hatched a plan to avert the verdict. Key lawmakers held a surprise meeting on August 21 with Law and Human Rights Minister Supratman Andi Agtas, a member of Prabowo's Gerindra party.
What emerged was a proposal to effectively ignore the court's ruling and amend the local election law's provisions regarding candidate qualifications and nomination in a manner that was completely inconsistent with the ruling.
But the public reaction was swift and angry: A graphic designed to look like a disaster warning system and bearing the words “URGENT ALERT” was widely circulated on social media. It was posted and reposted by typically apolitical influencers, comedians and other celebrities, helping to rally and coordinate support for the protests.
On August 22, protesters began large-scale demonstrations across Indonesia, focusing in particular on Kesang's candidacy and accusations that Jokowi was trying to build a political dynasty.
As the protests escalated, social media posts by Kaiyama's wife showing the couple travelling on a private jet to the US to start university classes there only exacerbated the situation, with screenshots of her laptop taking a social justice class drawing further satire.
But the key action took place not on social media but on the streets, with the most high-profile attempt by protesters in Jakarta to storm parliament.
But large protests also took place in major cities and towns across the archipelago nation, with protesters successfully invading the local councils of Ambon and Makassar.
Activists with previous protest experience who spoke to Asia Times argued that the August 22 protests appeared to go beyond the usual crowds, with many crediting social media statements posted by celebrities on their personal accounts for mobilizing larger and more diverse crowds than usual.
In the face of such strong street-level opposition, parliament killed the bill, prompting jubilant protesters but leaving many wary that the government will try to reintroduce the bill once the demonstrations die down.
“Yes, on the one hand we are getting positive news that the amendments will not be implemented,” said Fikri Dias, a law graduate who joined the Jakarta protesters, “but we should not let our guard down yet.”
He cited the example of President Joko Widodo in 2019 signing a controversial omnibus bill in the middle of the night, when most protesters were asleep, to minimize disruption. Some are anxiously watching to see whether the electoral commission will properly implement the court ruling.
The protests and near-constitutional crisis come against the backdrop of what critics say was a deterioration in democracy during a presidential election that ended in February.
In October 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that President Joko Widodo's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, could be nominated as Prabowo's running mate, despite him not meeting the minimum age of 40.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who is President Widodo's brother-in-law, was later removed from his position for violating professional ethics by taking on cases that had apparent conflicts of interest.
There were also accusations during the election campaign that Prabowo's two opponents had been harassed on the campaign trail and that the government had used welfare benefits to support Prabowo's candidacy.
For many, the Constitutional Court's decision was a bright spot for democratic separation of powers against the increasingly widespread anti-democratic practices.
“I think the Constitutional Court provided a solution to the majoritarian tendencies we see today,” said Titi Angraini, a constitutional law scholar and member of the advisory board of the Institute for Electoral and Democracy (Peruldem).
Indeed, the government and parliament's attempts to circumvent these court rulings were the final straw for many Indonesians worried about a backslide in democracy.
“The surge in public protests is a classic example of a real-life 'tipping point' where the latest series of affronts to our democratic values has triggered a breaking point,” said Tomas Lembong, who served as trade minister under former President Djokovic.
Lembong has since become a vocal critic of President Widodo and is now politically close to his rival, Anies Baswedan. On August 22, Lembong addressed protesters, expressing his support even as he voiced concern about the decline of democracy in Indonesia.
“Over the past 12 months, some political elites have increasingly violated political and social norms, testing the patience and tolerance of the public,” Lembong said in an interview with Asia Times.
“Until public figures, famous actors and entertainers who had been carefully silent until now finally spoke out, sparking the backlash we see today,” he added.
Still, many fear the showdown is far from over. In a series of murky events, Airlangga Hartarto, leader of Indonesia's second-largest party, Golkar, suddenly resigned on August 12 and was quickly replaced by a known ally of Widodo.
Prabowo has also raised concerns as the son-in-law of former dictator Suharto, who is suspected of involvement in the kidnapping and disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1998.
“I don't think this is the end all, but the new normal,” said Kevin O'Rourke, founder of Jakarta-based risk consultancy Reformasi Information Services.
“There is a strong incentive to curtail democracy and this is not a final test of that but rather the beginning of a long campaign that will likely see more hatred and possibly violence and casualties, if not necessarily in the near future,” O'Rourke predicted.
