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President tells ministers not to get distracted by election campaign
"I will conduct a regular evaluation. If [the campaigning] disrupts their work, yes I can find a replacement," Jokowi said in a speech to his supporters over the weekend.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (right), accompanied by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (left) and Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, inspects a mass paddy harvest in Lajer village, Kebumen regency, Central Java, on March 9. (Presidential Secretariat's Press Bureau/Laily Rachev)
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has told ministers in his Cabinet, especially those running for legislative office in the 2024 polls, to focus on their job or risk getting fired if they are too preoccupied with campaigning.
"I will conduct a regular evaluation. If [the campaigning] disrupts their work, yes I can find a replacement," Jokowi said in a speech to his supporters over the weekend.
Jokowi said he respected his ministers' political right to get nominated for legislative positions and that he would not make any efforts to stop them from running.
"What we all know is that this is within the law. And what matters most to me is that politicians are not distracted from their daily work," Jokowi said, as quoted by Antara.
A number of ministers in the Cabinet, including Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah, Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Abdul Halim Iskandar, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly, Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Communications and Information Technology Minister Johnny G. Plate, have been nominated by their respective political party to run in the 2024 legislative election.
Article 240 of Law No. 7/2017 stipulates that government ministers can remain in office if they decided to run for legislative office.
In recent days, President Jokowi has received criticism for interfering with the process to nominate candidates to run in the 2024 presidential election, including by using his government-sponsored trips to promote political candidates that analysts saw could become his successor next year.
