Protests in Indonesia force government to pause plans to water down election reforms

Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Mass protests forced Indonesian lawmakers to put off a decision Thursday on reversing rules that would have made it easier for opposition parties to challenge the ruling coalition of President Joko Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto in upcoming regional elections in November.

Almost 3,000 police were deployed on the streets of the capital, Jakarta, with the chief of police appealing for calm as tens of thousands gathered outside the House of Representatives chanting and burning tires after the government moved to override a constitutional court ruling that would open up elections to rivals from smaller parties.

Demonstrations by students, activists and unions, part of a so-called Indonesia Emergency Alert movement, were also taking place in other major cities including Padang, Bandung Yogyakarta and Semarang, 280 miles southeast of the capital, where police used water canons to try to disperse them.

Legislation watering down the court's decision Wednesday to slash the threshold for parties to nominate candidates for regional assemblies from 20% to 6.5-10% of the popular vote , enabling lone parties to nominate candidates without a coalition, was rushed through and was expected to pass Thursday but was postponed at the last minute due to the lack of a quorum.

Revisions to the Regional Elections Law by Widodo's 13-party Great Indonesia Awakening coalition sought to apply the lower threshold only to parties without seats in the local legislatures and push back a minimum age requirement of 30 for candidates to when they are sworn into office, rather than when they register to run.

The changes would mean many provincial elections across the four main islands of Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulewesi and more than 17,000 others that make up the Indonesian archipelago will likely see the incumbent re-elected unchallenged.

Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, who unsuccessfully challenged a Prabowo ticket that featured Widodo's 36-year-old son Gibran Rakabuming Raka for the presidency in elections in February , would also be unable to run for governor again in November.

Prabowo and running mate Gibran won 58.6% of the vote, defeating the main rival Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar ticket which garnered 25% of votes.

The age changes could help Widodo's other son, the 29-year-old Indonesian Solidarity Party leader Kaesang Pangarep, who is considering a November run for governor of Central Java but does not turn 30 until Dec. 25.

House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad refused to say when Thursday's abandoned session would reconvene.

"We work by following our existing mechanism. We have to hold a [preparatory] meeting that will decide when the plenary session will take place," said Dasco.

Widodo shrugged off the controversy as a routine playing out of the checks and balances of the branches of democratic government but University of Indonesia elections analyst Titi Anggraini told the BBC that what parliament was trying to do was unconsitutional.

"This is a robbery of the constitution," she said.

Protestors said they were forced to go onto the streets because Widodo and his clan were twisting the system to their advantage in order to hang onto power.

Critics, who allege Prabowo is Widodo's hand-picked successor through whom he plans to extend his influence now that he has completed his two terms as president, are also unhappy that Gibran was permitted to run despite being below the minimum age of 40 to qualify as a vice presidential candidate.

Prabowo, 72, an ex-military strongman and former son-in-law of Suharto, Indonesia's former president who presided over a brutal three-decade-long military dictatorship marked by rampant corruption, has long been accused of human rights abuses when he led the country's special forces, which he denies.

Prabowo and Gibran are due to be sworn in Oct. 20.