President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is planning what could be the last cabinet shake-up of his presidency amid a changing political landscape ahead of next year’s general election.

One day after NasDem Party politician Syahrul Yasin Limpo resigned from his post as agriculture minister over a probe into alleged corruption at the ministry, the President said on Friday that he would reshuffle his cabinet "as soon as possible" and appoint a definitive replacement for Syahrul.

Jokowi has, for the interim, named National Food Agency chairman Arief Prasetyo Adi as acting agriculture minister.

Given that the coming reshuffle could well be Jokowi's last, analyst Ujang Komarudin predicted that the President would use it to consolidate power.

"The next reshuffle could ultimately boil down to a strategy to respond to the current political constellation ahead of next year's presidential election,” Ujang said.

As the February 2024 presidential election draws closer, the coalition of parties supporting the Jokowi administration has seen some members shift allegiance to opposition presidential candidates.

Two pro-government parties – NasDem, led by media mogul Surya Paloh, and the National Awakening Party (PKB), the country’s largest Islam-based party – have forged an electoral alliance with the opposition Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) to back the presidential bid of Anies Baswesan, who has reportedly not been on good terms with the President.

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