As the campaign for the 2024 presidential election in Indonesia officially begins, outgoing President Joko Widodo, whose second term ends next year, seems ready to do anything to ensure that the mark of his eight years in power , notably characterized by a strategy of rapid industrial development, survived the end of his political career. The current head of state cannot run for a third time.
To achieve this objective, “Jokowi”, as everyone calls him in Indonesia, made two astonishing decisions: first, to support the candidacy of the man who was his unfortunate rival in the last two presidential elections, the former officer of the special forces, Prabowo Subianto – a man who carries behind him a sinister reputation as a soldier with dirty hands –; then the president chose to promote his own son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate for the post of vice-president alongside Prabowo, the latter also being minister of defense in Joko Widodo’s government.
Long accused of crimes against humanity by NGOs and foreign governments, including that of the United States, this high-ranking officer, who was the son-in-law of the dictator Suharto until his fall in 1998, recorded, Wednesday October 25, closing day of nominations, his candidacy and that of the “ticket” that he will form with the president’s son.
Securing the support of “Jokowi” voters
Elected in 2014, then re-elected in 2019, “Jokowi” continues to display a popularity rating at its zenith, estimated at 70%. By choosing the president’s son as potential vice-president, Prabowo, who is currently leading the polls, is seeking to secure the support of a large part of Jokowi’s voters, notably those in the presidential stronghold of Surakarta, the large city in Central Java, where the outgoing head of state began his career – and of which Gibran has been mayor since 2021. For this improbable ticket to see the light of day, the Constitutional Court had to decide, on 16 October, to authorize vice-presidential candidates below the legal age of 40 (Gibrang is 36). The court therefore created an exemption for those who already hold the office of regional elected official, which is the case of the president’s son.
This decision, sewn with white thread, increased the suspicions of “Dynasty politicians” against the president. Especially since the Supreme Court had already been criticized for having conveniently lifted, in 2020, the ban on the president’s children from running for regional governorships. That one of the judges of the court was none other than the brother-in-law of “Jokowi” and the uncle of Gibran did not help matters. If “Jokowi” has not explicitly announced his support for the Prabowo-Gibran tandem, there is no doubt about it. The Coalition for an Indonesia of Progress, which brings together the different parties supporting candidate Prabowo, also received on October 24 the official support of a new political formation aimed at youth and led since September by… the youngest son of “Jokowi”, Kaesang Pangarep, aged 28. Sixty percent of Indonesian voters are under 39 years old.
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