TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Court rules campaign leave for Jokowi not mandatory
Experts have welcomed a Constitutional Court ruling that means incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will not have to take leave for his reelection bid, which the opposition had claimed was a potential abuse of power
Change Size
E
span>Experts have welcomed a Constitutional Court ruling that means incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will not have to take leave for his reelection bid, which the opposition had claimed was a potential abuse of power.
The Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that a president or vice president is not required to take campaign leave during a presidential election contest, although they had the right to do so.
The ruling was the result of a judicial review filed by students of Bekasi-based Assyafiiyah Islamic University, which had challenged the articles on campaign leave in the 2017 Election Law, including Article 281 that stipulated that a president or vice president, ministers and regional heads had to take leave during election campaigns.
The students argued that a president should take full leave during his campaign as presidential duties were so onerous that he could not carry out campaign activities.
The campaign team for challenger Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno urged Jokowi to take leave based on the law, claiming it would be an abuse of power not to do so.
The campaign cited the fact that Sandiaga resigned from his post as Jakarta deputy governor to run as vice-presidential candidate.
The court rejected the petition on the grounds that a president or vice president had the right to campaign for reelection.
“The issue is whether or not they use the right. It is entirely within their full discretion,” said Justice Saldi Isra as quoted by tempo.co.
Constitutional law expert Feri Amsari of Padang-based Andalas University in West Sumatra supported the court decision, saying that no president around the world would take leave during a reelection campaign.
“It is impossible for a president to take leave because he is bound by his duties as stipulated in the 1945 Constitution and the Election Law,” he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Feri added that the President could only delegate his duties to the Vice President and ministers if he went abroad.
He emphasized that no president anywhere was allowed to abuse his power by using state facilities for personal benefit at any time, including during an election, therefore, any issue should be addressed in other regulations, not those related to elections.
“The Election Law previously required a president to take leave but I think the law was contrary to the Constitution, which requires the president to be on duty for five years,” he said.
Jokowi earlier said he was ready to take leave if it was required by law.
Jokowi campaign spokesperson Arya Sinulingga said the opposition’s insistence on the incumbent taking leave was an expression of fear of losing the presidential election.
“All senior members [of Prabowo’s campaign] demanded Jokowi take leave because the incumbent is leading them [in the polls],” he said.
Arya pointed out that former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, currently the leader of the Democratic Party, did not take leave when he was campaigning for his reelection in 2009.
Political expert Hendri Satrio of Jakarta-based Paramadina University also supported the court’s decision, saying that the opposition should not over stress the president’s campaign leave.
“They should just admit it’s Jokowi’s privilege as incumbent. I know it’s hard. But, this is the phenomenon that a challenger must face if he runs against an incumbent,” he said.
Hendri, who is a political observer from pollster Kedai Kopi, added that Prabowo, who was also Jokowi’s rival in the 2014 presidential election, also had privileges, whereby he could throw criticism at Jokowi at anytime and anywhere.
“The fact is that each of them has privileges. There’s no need to exaggerate,” he said.
The country will hold legislative and presidential elections concurrently on April 17.
Earlier, there had been complaints that regional heads and ministers had campaigned for the incumbent.
But these were dismissed by the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) as the Election Law does not regulate endorsements by democratically elected leaders.
The law only stipulates punishment for civil servants, as well as police and military officers, if they are found campaigning for a candidate.
There is, however, a requirement that high-ranking public officials conduct campaign activities in their own time and may not use state facilities. (das)
