Several Indonesian government officials as well as President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s supporters are still trying to push for his third term at office, although the Constitution states “The President and Vice President hold office for five years, after which they can be re-elected to the same position for one term only”.
Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia said that Indonesia needed a tested leader in order to protect the national economy. On the grass root level, Jokowi supporters are trying to push for an amendment of the Constitution to allow the president to run for the third time.
“The country needs stability. To create a stability, we need a tested and strong leader,” Lahadalia said, responding to a survey on Jokowi’s approval rating on December 8, 2022. “We can experiment with someone [of our choice], it’s okay. But we will all be responsible for that.”
Public satisfaction
A survey by Poltracking Indonesia from November 21-27, 2022, on 1,220 respondents showed that 73.2% of the public was satisfied with the performance of Jokowi and Vice President Ma’ruf Amin administration. The method of the survey is multistage random sampling with margin of error +/- 2.9%.
Lahadalia likened Jokowi’s administration as driving on a smooth road. However, as the global economy is facing significant challenges in 2023 – growth has lost momentum, high inflation has broadened out across countries and products, and energy supply shortages could push prices higher – Indonesia would face a bumpy road.
Lahadalia warned that a “new driver” could cause accidents on the bumpy roads.
The minister had previously supported the possible extension in office for Jokowi post COVID-19 pandemic recovery. He even tossed the idea to delay the 2024 general elections, claiming the suggestion came from businessmen that he had met.
“If we check with businesspeople, they consider there should be a room to postpone the leadership transition,” he said on January 9, 2022.
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Responding to the survey, the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said the question was not on the people’s satisfaction.
“The question should be whether public satisfaction has a correlation with the public desire to allow Jokowi to lead Indonesia again,” he added.
Jokowi’s achievements
According to Soesatyo, Jokowi’s administration has achieved some performances including dealing with the pandemic, holding the G20 Summit and creating 5% economic growth. Jokowi, he said, also had quick responses on earthquake and disasters.
“In my assessment, Jokowi has a sense of crisis. The public satisfaction may have correlation with Jokowi’s longer leadership or they are already satisfied with his current performance,” he said.
Soesatyo said Indonesia was facing a big agenda in the next 2 years, which was a simultaneous general elections. Indonesia should take the general elections seriously since it usually increases political tensions. “We need to calculate whether the momentum is right in this era because we are doing a recovery on this situation and anticipate global threat in the economy and natural disasters,” he added.
Baron Danardono Wibowo, Chairman of Jokowi supporting group Jokpro, said it was impossible to postpone the elections because the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government have decided to hold the elections on February 14, 2024.
Jokpro is currently consolidating its members, mainly from the eastern part of Indonesia, to voice their aspiration to the MPR for the amendment of the Constitution on the presidential election. The group has 8-10 months to meet with the MPR and deliver their aspirations.
Avoiding polarization
Wibowo argued that the main reason for an amendment was to avoid an extreme polarization at the 2024 polls. Jokpro is worried about the possible clash between religious and nationalist groups in the elections. The group opted to pair Jokowi with Prabowo Subianto, former rival in the 2019 presidential election and current minister of defense. Wibowo also said that Jokowi’s programs have not all completed yet.
“We are worried about the new capital (IKN) project because it has not reached the point of no return. There is still a possibility that the project can be canceled by the next president,” he said, adding that another reason was the 2023 possible economic crisis.
Wibowo denied that Jokowi had rejected the idea of a third presidency for him.
“In my opinion, Jokowi’s answer is normative. If the Constitution was amended that allow Jokowi to run for the third term, he would certainly follow the people’s will. If the people want him to continue, we believe he will continue his uncompleted works. It does not mean Jokowi is not committed with what he said,” he said.
Wibowo is optimistic that the MPR would approve the amendment due to the high approval rating and support for Jokowi.
