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Backsliding democracy mars Jokowi’s political legacy
When Joko “Jokowi” Widodo entered politics in 2004, he was hailed as a beacon of hope and a democratic reformer, an outsider promising to fix a political system dominated by family dynasties and military elites.
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A protester holds a placard that reads, “Jokowi, Gibran, Kaesang are nepotism role models” to denounce President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo during a rally demanding a fair election outside the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on Feb. 12, 2024. (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
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hen Joko “Jokowi” Widodo entered national political stage in 2014, he was hailed as a beacon of hope and a democratic reformer, an outsider promising to fix a political system dominated by family dynasties and military elites.
But now, as his second and final term as President comes to an end, critics say Jokowi has undermined the democratic norms he promised to uphold by manipulating the rule of law to advance his political ambitions, cracking down on dissent and weakening graft eradication efforts.
During Jokowi’s 10-year presidency, the country has seen the weakening of democratic institutions and the narrowing of space for civic participation amid rushed and secretive legislative activity.
“Added to political nepotism and dynasties, that did not provide equal opportunities for all people,” political analyst Firman Noor of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said.
A few years into the Jokowi administration, the president abandoned his campaign promise to appoint only professionals to his cabinet and began awarding ministerial positions to political parties aligned with his government.
Observers said the former Jakarta governor also manipulated factional splits within two opposition parties to bring them into the ruling coalition. Such moves allowed him to turn his one-third legislative minority at the beginning of his presidency into an almost two-thirds majority two years later.
“Jokowi took advantage of all the power he had as president and used it very effectively to domesticate opposition,” said Made Supriatna of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
