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Jokowi faces backlash over claim of campaign right
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (center) and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto join a ceremony on Jan. 24, 2024, marking the handover of Hercules military transport aircraft to the Air Force. (The Jakarta Post/Antara)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has come under fire for saying that holding a public office did not restrict him from campaigning for any election contenders amid growing concerns that he is putting his thumb on the scale in favor of his erstwhile rival and his son in the February election.
Jokowi insisted on Wednesday that a sitting president was free to back any presidential candidate and that he was entitled to campaign for the candidate of his choice in his free time, provided he made no use of government facilities while doing so.
"Yes, a president can join the campaign. Yes, a president can pick a side. All that is permitted as long as he does not use state facilities," Jokowi told reporters, adding that presidents and ministers had the same “democratic right” as every citizen to support their preferred candidates.
He made the statement after a handover ceremony at Halim Perdanakusumah Air Base in East Jakarta for new Hercules military transport aircraft to the Air Force.
Gerindra Party presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi’s former rival in previous elections who is now running with the President’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, took part in the ceremony in his capacity as defense minister and stood beside the President during the media briefing.
Jokowi’s remark came amid a growing perception that the popular President is tacitly favoring frontrunner Prabowo-Gibran.
Activists and critics have repeatedly raised concerns over what they see as Jokowi’s attempts to cling to power and build a political dynasty, especially after the controversial Constitutional Court ruling that tweaked the eligibility criteria, allowing Gibran to run for VP.
