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Jokowi’s nod to ministers’ election bid might spell second-term curse
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Officials sort and fold ballots for 2019 elections at a General Elections Committee (KPU) warehouse at STT Mandala University in Bandung, West Java, on April 1. At least 1.7 ballots for the city of Bandung are sorted here. The sorting was done in one day to prevent delays in the materials’ distribution by District Election Committees (PPK). Antara/Novrian Arbi (Antara/Novrian Arbi)
The Constitutional Court’s decision to clear the way for ministers to run in the upcoming presidential election without having to quit the Cabinet has left many wondering whether President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who still maintains his grip on his big-tent coalition, could really defy the infamous “second-term curse”.
Less than two years before the end of his second and last term of presidency, Jokowi has proved pundits and detractors’ predictions wrong about him becoming a lame-duck president, as the country saw happen to his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The President still maintains strong political capital with the backing of seven political parties – which now control 82 percent of the 575 seats in the House of Representatives, a stark contrast to his minority government coalition during his first year after being elected in 2014.
Jokowi also remains incredibly popular and his approval ratings have never fallen below 60 percent – as shown by many independent polls, an enviable position for any second-term president in any democratic country.
While it is clear that Jokowi has become more astute at bargaining with political parties, political analysts have said that whether Jokowi could keep away from becoming a lame-duck president hinged on how he navigated his final years.
‘Divided executive’
Last week, the Constitutional Court ruled to overturn a provision within the 2017 Election Law that requires high-ranking officials to quit if they wish to run for election. Now ministers only need the President’s permission to take leave during the campaign season.
