Indonesia’s Widodo stands by direct presidential elections but power brokers have other ideas

Proposed constitutional changes would empower upper house of parliament to elect the country’s leader, echoing the system of the Suharto era

Widodo has sought to dissuade lawmakers from such changes but his own party supports a review and others are poised to follow suit

Reading Time:3 minutes

Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Photo: AP

Published: 5:00pm, 30 Nov 2019Updated: 1:46pm, 6 Dec 2019

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is determined to retain direct presidential elections, despite recent calls by political elites to empower the upper house of parliament to elect the country’s leader, in a move that harks back to the era of former strongman Suharto.

Fadjroel Rachman, the leader’s spokesman, said Widodo considered himself a “product of direct presidential elections” and saw no reason to support presidential elections by the upper house, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).

“The people are a source of legitimate power of the country and the government,” Fadjroel said.

“It is through the mechanism of direct presidential election mechanism … that gives the mandate of power to the leader to run the government,” he said.

Former president Suharto, pictured in 1996. Photo: Reuters

Direct elections of the president and vice-president were central to the demands of the 1998 Reform movement, Fadjroel said, referring to the student-led protests which toppled Suharto.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x