Children of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Vice President Ma’ruf Amin and Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung are all seeking public office in various regions, yet they deny accusations that they are building political dynasties.

Voters of Surakarta in Central Java, Medan in North Sumatra, South Tangerang in Banten and Kediri in East Java are to determine whether the highly connected candidates can fulfill their political ambitions in the Sept. 23 regional elections. The candidates would also be testing whether their fathers can help bring them victory.

President Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka announced at the end of 2019 that he would run to be mayor of Surakarta. Jokowi's son-in-law Bobby Nasution also said he would run for mayor in Medan. Meanwhile, the fourth daughter of the Vice President, Siti Nur Azizah, is running to be mayor of South Tangerang, Banten.

Recently, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the party supporting his political career, had requested his eldest son, Hanindhito Himawan Pramana, to run to be regent of Kediri.

Both Gibran and Bobby have denied accusations that they are taking steps toward building political dynasties, saying their candidacies have nothing to do with establishing a legacy under Jokowi's name.

The President's son and son-in-law are now expecting the political parties to officially nominate them. Gibran, Siti and Hanindito are waiting for recommendations from PDI-P, while Bobby awaits one from the Golkar Party.

In addition to Gibran and Bobby, Wahyu Purwanto, the husband of Jokowi's younger sibling, and Dolly Sinomba Siregar, Bobby’s uncle, are also to contest races in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta and South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, respectively. They are expecting recommendations from the NasDem Party and Golkar, respectively.

A survey by the Jakarta-based Nagara Institute found that political dynasties proliferated in the three latest simultaneous regional elections. In 2015, 2017 and 2018, at least 80 regions, 14.78 percent of the total number, were exposed to political dynasties.

Thirty-five regional heads with family ties to local and central officials won offices in 33 regencies and cities and two provinces in the 2015 election.

The number dropped to 17 in 2017. However, it increased to 34 in 2017, consisting of seven regional heads at the provincial level and 26 in regencies and cities.

Nagara executive director Akbar Faizal said the finding reflected a strong indication that there had been a problem in the political parties' recruitment systems and that oligarchies in political parties, which were reflected in the strengthening of political dynasties, would adversely affect democracy.

“Despite the parties having their own mechanisms for naming candidates, the candidacy [of the President’s or Vice President’s child] could still be considered as an oligarchy in political parties," he said.

Although there is no law that restricts anyone, including the son of a government official or a relative of the president in office, from being involved in politics, it nevertheless raises concerns about how it is ethically and appropriately accepted, said Pangi Syarwi Chaniago, the executive director of Jakarta-based Voxpol Center Research and Consulting.

He noted that Indonesia has several political dynasties, including those of Sukarno's, Soeharto's and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's families. But Jokowi’s is different as it is being built while the President is still in office.

"This is a new phenomenon for an Indonesian political dynasty. It’s the first time for a family member of a president who is still in office to run in a regional election,” Pangi said.

“If not prepared properly and it fails, then it would affect Jokowi’s reputation.”

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