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Jokowi green lights ministers’ election bids
Constitutional Court scraps election law provision requiring ministers to step down when running for presidential or vice-presidential election
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo talks to The Jakarta Post's journalists during an interview at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Nov. 2. (JP/Abdur Rahim)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said that he had no problem with his ministers running for election while in office, but cautioned that he would review their performance as a point of consideration for the next Cabinet reshuffle.
“We follow the MK [Constitutional Court] ruling. I can also conduct an evaluation; if [their campaign] affects their performance they could just take a long leave,” the President told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive at the State Palace on Wednesday.
The President’s remarks came amid controversy over a recent Constitutional Court ruling overturning a provision within the 2017 Election Law that requires high-ranking officials to quit if they wish to run for election. The court has ruled that they now only need the President’s permission to take leave during the campaign season.
Article 170 Paragraph 1 of the 2017 Election Law stipulates that ministers or ministerial-level officials must resign if they are nominated by a political party or coalition of political parties to run as a presidential or vice-presidential candidate.
The nine-panel bench partially accepted a judicial petition to annul the law that was submitted by members of the Garuda Party. They argued that the provision was discriminatory, saying that everyone had the right to vote and run for office.
They demanded that the provisions be declared unconstitutional and revoked.
