Constitutional Court, Ganjar/Mahfud MD, Anies/Cak Imin, and Jet-setting Jokowi
A lot going this week politically with the constitutional Court and Ganjar picking his running mate. Jokowi also travelled to Beijing and Riyadh where he met his counterparts and inked some deals.
Apologies for the messy and reduced format this week. I'm on the road in Vietnam and have needed to write this week's issue on my phone. I'm afraid next week will be the same. Enjoy.
Constitutional court rules on presidential candidate age
The week started off with the news that the constitutional court had ruled on a request to reassess the age requirement of presidential candidates, including vice president.
When did all of this begin?
Partai Soldaritas Indonesia, a youth-led political party backed by old money, submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court in March to conduct a judicial review of the presidential age limit, specifically whether the bar of entry could be lowered from 40 years of age to 35.
While PSI framed the review as an effort to allow more political representation for young people, it has been widely framed as a strategy to allow Jokowi's eldest son and mayor of Solo, Gibran Rakabuming, who is 36 to contest the upcoming presidential election as a vice presidential candidate. Political analysts and media commentators alike have speculated that Prabowo would be the likely presidential candidate that Gibran would join, which after this week’s events has turned out to be correct.
What was the court's ruling?
On Monday, the Constitutional Court upheld the age limit at 40 but acknowledged that there would be an exception for those who have held or been elected as regional leaders. As the incumbent Mayor of Solo, the ruling has effectively opened the door for Gibran to run.
However, the ruling attracted sour responses on social media, with posts pointing out that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is Anwar Usman, Jokowi’s brother-in-law. I'll leave it to you to make your own judgement about that.
Ganjar Pranowo names Mahfud MD as VP running mate
On Wednesday, PDI-P chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri announced that Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD would be the running mate of presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo.
After accepting the nomination and as a sign of Ganjar's campaign to come, Mahfud stressed the need for law enforcement, specifically tackling corruption.
The pair wasted no time in making their ticket official by registering at the Indonesian Electoral Commission ('KPU') on Thursday.
Why pick Mahfud MD?
Simply put, he’s an experienced politician and technocrat with a clean record. To be honest, his name has popped up several times in the past as a potential vice presidential candidate, most recently as Jokowi’s running mate in 2019 before being pipped for Maruf Amin by no fault of his own.
Like Maruf, Mahfud MD is also a notable figure in Nahdlatul Ulama ('NU'), Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation. Therefore, it is likely that Ganjar’s coalition is eager to tap into the organisation’s member base. With approximately 95 million members, who wouldn’t want a slice of that.
What about the other VP hopefuls in Ganjar’s coalition?
I feel the need to talk about Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, who at this stage has danced with every presidential candidate at the party.
To recap, his first political debutante was as Anies’ running mate during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election, which they won. Sandiaga then stepped down to be Prabowo’s running at the 2019 presidential election, which the pair lost.
A few months ago, Sandiaga left Prabowo’s political party, Gerindra, to join PPP, a small Islamic political party that likely enjoyed some patronage from the businessman-cum-politician. The objective of this switch was to allow Sandiaga to freely navigate the VP sweepstakes.
Ultimately, this hasn’t worked out for Pak Sandi. Nevertheless, it is likely that he will join Ganjar’s campaign team, which should provide a boost due to his large public profile.
What has the reaction been from the other two coalitions?
Basically, Cak Imin said that he wasn’t worried about the Ganjar-Mahfud ticket splitting the NU vote. Prabowo is also reportedly reconsidering Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming, as his running mate in favour of a candidate with some NU credentials. Prabowo has already stated that he will register with the KPU next week, meaning that we should know his decision in the coming days. The final registration day is 25 October.
Anies/Cak Imin are official
Anies Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar officially registered their ticket with the KPU on Thursday, making them the first pairing to do so. The pair were accompanied by party representatives from their coalition, namely NasDem, PKB and the Prosperous Justice Party.
The pair travelled by motorcade from NasDem’s central office in Menteng to the KPU’s building in the same suburb. The event was reportedly met with throngs of supporters lining the streets.
Anything else worth noting?
Another moment from these festivities that has made its rounds on social media was when Anies kissed the hand of NasDem chairman Surya Paloh. Although representatives from NasDem downplayed the act as a sign of respect to an elder, most people online saw it as a confirmation of the centre of power in Anies' Coalition for Change.
Jokowi visits China
While political events unfolded domestically, Jokowi was conveniently jet-setting around the world this week. The first destination on his tour de force was Beijing, where he met with China's President Xi Jinping. In addition to attending the BRI Forum, Jokowi had some other objectives on his wishlist.
What were these objectives?
Trade and Investment. Jokowi had his sales hat on and was chasing investment for the development of nascent industries in Indonesia, including EVs, petrochemicals, and renewable energy. The two leaders also signed 10 MOUs, which related to trade, development, and healthcare.
Jokowi also noted that the two countries would work to develop a QR code cross-border payments system that would permit transactions in local currencies. We've seen trialled between ASEAN states and is part of a growing dedollarization in the region.
Jokowi visits Saudi Arabia
Jokowi was in Saudi Arabia this week but not for an impromptu Umroh. After his trip to China, Jokowi headed to Riyadh where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
What was discussed？
An Indonesia-Saudi Arabia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The two countries tried to hammer out the details of a prospective agreement with the goal to increase and balance trade between the two countries. At the present, Saudi Arabia is Indonesia's 23rd largest trading partner.
Anything else?
Jokowi also asked for Saudi Arabia to join Indonesia to prevent the conflict in Israel/Palestine from escalating further.
All opinions are my own.