The Constitutional Court is asking what the urgency is for it to lower the minimum age for president and vice president from 40 to 35 years if the House of Representatives and the government, who make the electoral laws and regulations, have given their endorsements. It is also a question that many people in the country are asking.

“Why pass the buck to the court if you can amend the law yourself?” Justice Saldi Isra asked on Aug. 1 when opening the court hearing of several petitions calling for the change.

The government and the House have sent written endorsements of the petitions, brought forward by the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), the Garuda Party and a group of five mayors and regency heads.

Not one of the three petitioners came out with a forthright answer, but all fingers point to Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the mayor of Surakarta in Central Java, who is none other than the son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Gibran will be 36 when the presidential election takes place in February.

While the slots of presidential candidates are almost certainly settled, all three presumptive candidates are still searching for running mates to help them win the race. Lately, Gibran’s name has been mentioned as a possible contender, and the idea is quickly gaining traction.

Gibran himself has publicly said he held no ambitions for the job, but his reasoning that he did not meet the legal age requirement is taken to mean that he would run if the law was changed.

President Jokowi has said he would not interfere with the Constitutional Court hearing. It is a statement he had to make in public since the court is headed by Anwar Usman, his brother-in-law.

Popular

Power begins to return after outage in Indonesia's Bali island

Coffee, gold push up inflation to 1.95 percent in April

The fragile promise of pluralism, religious freedom in Southeast Asia