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Jokowi’s neutrality a ruse, critics claim
President Jokowi faces a growing civil movement accusing him of misusing his position to support his son's vice presidential bid.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto dine at a restaurant in Central Jakarta on Jan. 5, 2024. Jokowi has been accused of implicitly supporting the defense minister's presidential campaign by wielding his state authority and high approval ratings. (Instagram/@prabowo)
Prominent figures and civil society organizations are mobilizing around a perception that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his administration have acted with unacceptable partiality in the run-up to next month’s general election, as they call for accountability and, in some cases, impeachment.
With a few weeks left before voting day, critics say Jokowi is putting his thumb on the scale in favor of his son, vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and his former rival, presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who are running on the same ticket.
A group of top interfaith figures, including prominent Muslim cleric Quraisy Shihab and former first lady Sinta Nuriyah, widow of late former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, have embarked on a mission to strengthen existing commitments to maintain the integrity of the 2024 election “for the sake of the nation’s unity”.
The group, called the National Movement of Conscience (GNB), held talks last week with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, during which they expressed their hope that election organizers and members of the state apparatus would remain neutral in the upcoming election.
“Democracy is certainly not perfect, but at least that is what we have chosen as an endeavor to strengthen our diversity [and] unite the various aspirations that exist in the nation,” the group said in a statement to The Jakarta Post.
“But this process of democratization has recently been distorted; the upcoming elections have shown increasingly worrying symptoms. The slogan of ‘a fair and honest election’ is not enough, because the elections must also take place peacefully and with dignity,” it continued.
After meeting with Ma’ruf and the elder Yudhoyono last week, the group intends to meet with other state officials, including the incumbent Jokowi and election organizers, said Gus Dur’s daughter Alissa Wahid, a GNB member.
