Indonesia: Outgoing Pres. Accused of Interfering for Candidate

Facts

• Following the release of an investigative documentary on Sunday, outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo is facing accusations of using state money and officials to help prop up the candidacy of current Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.¹
• In response to the allegations, which include manipulating election rules, hundreds of Indonesian students took to the streets in protest.²
• While Joko hasn't specifically endorsed any candidate, he's made appearances with Prabowo and his son is running as the Defense Minister's vice presidential candidate. Critics believe his connection to Prabowo, who is currently polling above 50%, is unjustly swaying the election.³
• Joko's son was unable to join the election ticket until the head of the Constitutional Court, Gibran Rakabuming Raka — who is Joko's uncle — created a legal loophole in one of his rulings.¹
• The allegations and subsequent protests came as the country entered a calm period ahead of Wednesday's election, with 25K police deployed to ensure safety and remove campaign billboards.³
• The other two candidates seeking the presidency — which requires 50% of the vote, otherwise the top two contenders enter a runoff in June — are Ganjar Pranowo, a populist member of Joko's party, and opposition candidate Anies Baswedan.⁴

Sources: ¹Guardian, ²Barron's, ³Reuters and ⁴South China Morning Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Jakarta Post. Indonesia's overall corruption level has risen since Widodo took office. A blatant example of this was the outgoing president's decision to dissolve the Corruption Eradication Commission, which was developed during the post-dictatorship anti-corruption movement in 2004. Widodo has intentionally freed corrupt government officials from the eyes of the law, so it makes sense that he'd interfere in an election, too.
• Narrative B, as provided by Nikkei Asia. If the endorsement of President Widodo was supposed to be an indictment on Prabowo's character, the opinion polls would beg to differ. The reason Prabowo is now the frontrunner in this race is because of his connection to Widodo, whose popularity is also quite strong. Widodo and his preferred candidate are also polling well with younger voters — a demographic a duly elected leader usually needs.