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Jokowi, Prabowo could buy more time in VP selection
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Vice President Jusuf Kalla (right) accompanies President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo during a meeting at the Presidential Palace. (Antara/Wahyu Putro A.)
A
s political parties continue to wrangle over who will fill the vice presidential slots and are likely to miss the Aug. 10 deadline, new provisions in election regulations may allow for both incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his challenger Prabowo Subianto to buy more time.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) recently issued KPU Regulation No. 22/2018 on the registration for presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2019 general election, stipulating that political parties or coalitions of parties could register their tickets beyond the original Aug. 10 deadline.
Article 16 of the regulation stipulates that the registration period for candidate pairs can be extended for no more than two weeks under certain conditions, including if the KPU does not receive a submission from any tickets during the period between Aug. 4 and Aug. 10, or if only one ticket registers with the commission within the seven-day window.
“The KPU will initially extend the registration period for seven days [after the Aug. 10 deadline],” Article 16 (3) read. The election commission could add a further seven days if no candidate pair is registered during the first extended period.
The possibility for extending the deadline came amid speculation that the coalition of political parties backing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is waiting for the Constitutional Court to decide if Vice President Jusuf Kalla can run for a third term.
The court is currently handling a judicial review request filed by the United Indonesia Party (Perindo), a member of Jokowi’s coalition, which challenges a provision in the 2017 Elections Law banning the president or vice president from seeking a third term in office.
Court spokesperson Fajar Laksono said there was a likelihood that the nine justices could issue a verdict even before Aug. 10.
