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Luhut says most people want longer term for Jokowi. But experts, surveys beg to differ
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Push and pull: People move ballot boxes sent in from various districts during the 2019 presidential and legislative elections at the General Elections Commission (KPU) office in Magelang, Central Java. (Antara/Anis Efizudin)
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oordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan recently said that a majority of Indonesians supported a longer final term for President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. But politicians and experts are challenging the claim, which was made after several party leaders within the pro-government coalition pushed for the 2024 general election to be postponed.
Hasto Kristiyanto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), a ruling party of which Jokowi is a member but has rejected the idea of extending the President’s term, said Luhut's statement was out of bounds.
"I think Luhut needs to clarify in what capacity he was speaking [because] matters related to politics, law and security are under the authority of the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister; electoral democracy and governance fall under the home affairs minister," he said in a press statement on Monday.
He urged Luhut to reveal details of his claim, including where he got his information.
On a podcast with presenter and former mentalist Deddy Corbuzier on Friday, Luhut said he was aware of big data on social media conversations pointing to a majority of Indonesians who wanted to see Jokowi’s final term extended so he could lead Indonesia's pandemic recovery.
He claimed the data was sourced from 110 million social media users but did not provide further details on how and when the information was collected or by whom it was processed.
“The country's middle-to low-income [people] want [political] stability, as they are more concerned about the economy," Luhut said.
