Indonesia's judicial body to question judges over election-delay ruling

JAKARTA — Indonesia's judicial oversight body on Friday (March 3) said it would summon judges from a district court to explain what it called a "controversial" ruling that effectively ordered a delay in the 2024 presidential and general elections.

Handling a lawsuit from an obscure party whose election registration had been denied, the Central Jakarta district court on Thursday ruled that the election commission must halt all its election preparations for more than two years.

The decision, which would push back national polls until 2025 at the earliest, has drawn widespread criticism and raised questions about the court's authority and why it deemed all election processes must be stopped.

"If there are strong suspicions that there was foul play on the part of the judges, then the commission will probe the said judges," said Miko Ginting, a spokesman for Indonesia's Judicial Commission.

The court has yet to publish its full ruling and excerpts made available on its website did not provide an explanation. Zulkifli Atjo, a court spokesman, said the decision was the prerogative of the judges.

The election commission, or KPU, on Thursday said it would appeal against the decision and forge ahead with organising the polls.

The ruling has revived a debate regarding President Joko Widodo's tenure, with some senior political figures openly backing the idea of him staying beyond his second term, which ends next year, while others have warned that it would roll back two decades of hard-won democratic reforms.

Indonesia's Constitution limits a president to two terms in office and the Constitutional Court made clear in a ruling on another case on Tuesday that there could be no extension beyond that.

"If the discourse comes back to surface, it will create more uncertainties around the elections," said Arya Fernandes, an analyst at Indonesia's Centre for Strategic and International Studies, adding that it would also create an unstable investment climate.

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Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, has previously said he rejects the idea of extending his time in office.

Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, a senior official at the office of Widodo's chief of staff, on Friday called for calm and said that the government "is still committed" to holding elections in February 2024.

Multiple surveys have shown that most Indonesians are against extending Widodo's term.

Widodo's ruling party and the country's chief security minister opposed Thursday's decision, saying a district court has no authority to decide on election issues, echoing concerns of law experts.

Said Iqbal, chairman of the Labour Party, said workers would protest against the decision as it goes against the Constitutional Court's ruling that a sitting president's tenure could not be extended beyond the existing limit.

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