Indonesia Postpones Election Law Changes After Attempts to Storm Parliament
Lawmakers in Indonesia have halted the ratification of changes to election laws and postponed deliberations until the next parliament begins, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced on Thursday after the plenary session did not meet the quorum....
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Facts
- Lawmakers in Indonesia have halted the ratification of changes to election laws and postponed deliberations until the next parliament begins, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced on Thursday after the plenary session did not meet the quorum.[1][2]
- This means that the proposed overhaul will not apply under the administration of Pres. Joko Widodo, who leaves office on Oct. 20 to be replaced by president-elect Prabowo Subianto, or to regional elections in November.[3][4]
- This comes as thousands of protesters gathered outside the parliament, breached security barriers, and attempted to storm the building, as they claim the election law changes would threaten democracy in the country.[5][6]
- Demonstrators threw rocks at police officers and blocked roads, while security forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Jakarta Metropolitan Police arrested 159 people, including students, and at least seven journalists reported experiencing some form of violence.[7][8][6]
- On Wednesday, the parliament passed an emergency motion to vote on a fast-tracked legislation after the Constitutional Court on Tuesday cut the representation threshold from 20% to under 10% and upheld the current age requirement for candidates.[9][10][3]
- The top court's ruling allows prominent government critic Anies Baswedan to contest the Jakarta gubernatorial race and blocks Widodo's youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, from running for deputy governor in Central Java.[11]
Sources: [1]CNN, [2]Financial Times, [3]Reuters, [4]CNA, [5]Al Jazeera, [6]Newsweek, [7]The Jakartapost, [8]Kompas.Id, [9]Associated Press, [10]BBC News and [11]South China Morning Post.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by VOI. Demonstrations were key to ensuring that public rationality remains in place and the protests prevent the ratification of these undemocratic changes to election laws in Indonesia. Given that rulings of the Constitutional Court are final and binding, lawmakers must implement them instead of pushing for an overhaul.
- Narrative B, as provided by Jakartaglobe. While there's indeed a correlation between nationwide student protests on Thursday and the decision to postpone the ratification of the election law changes, the main reason for the delay was the lack of quorum. As candidate registration begins on Tuesday, it would be inadequate to raise the issue again next week.
