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Jokowi not meddling with election, backs Prabowo for continuity: Luhut
In an interview broadcast on Wednesday, senior minister and Jokowi loyalist Luhut Pandjaitan confirmed the president was backing frontrunner and former rival Prabowo Subianto as the candidate most likely to continue his agenda after a decade in power.
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oordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan talks during an interview at his office in Jakarta, Indonesia January 8, 2020. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
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longtime ally of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has launched a staunch defence of the popular leader amid a storm of criticism, rejecting allegations of his political interference to try to sway the outcome of next week's presidential election.
In an interview broadcast on Wednesday, senior minister and Jokowi loyalist Luhut Pandjaitan confirmed the president was backing frontrunner and former rival Prabowo Subianto as the candidate most likely to continue his agenda after a decade in power.
Jokowi, who cannot seek re-election and has not explicitly backed a candidate, has faced mounting allegations of ethical breaches and meddling ahead of the Feb. 14 polls, including in a court's last-minute decision to change election rules, which allowed his son to become Prabowo's running mate. Jokowi has rejected that.
Luhut said there was nothing wrong with the ruling of the Constitutional Court, which was then headed by Jokowi's brother-in-law, who remains on the bench.
The judge was reprimanded by an ethics panel for intentionally allowing "intervention from an external party", which it did not name.
"Do you think its possible for the president to influence these nine justices? If so, there must be something wrong with the appointment process," Luhut told CNN Indonesia.
Asked why Jokowi supported Prabowo, Luhut said the president believed he was the candidate to advance his economic policies, such as creating downstream industries to process natural resources following its successful implementation on nickel.
