President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo claims he is within his legal rights in taking sides and taking part in campaigns in the coming general election, literally thumbing his nose at a petition calling for his impeachment because of his constant interventions in the race. He has openly endorsed the nomination of his defense minister Prabowo Subianto with running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, his 36-year-old son. He has also joined in the on-going campaign for the Feb. 14 presidential race. "It's the democratic and political right of every citizen […] A president can campaign and take sides, as long as he does not use state facilities in the campaign," Jokowi said on Wednesday amid growing complaints that his interventions are giving an unfair advantage to the Prabowo-Gibran ticket over the other two pairs of candidates.

Critics said as the President, who oversees and is responsible for the electoral process, Jokowi should stay above the fray. One staunch criticism comes from Jusuf Kalla, his vice president in his first term in 2014-2019, who said Jokowi was in violation of his oath of office. This prompted a group of citizens, calling themselves Petition 100, to demand the legislature to begin the process of impeachment, although no political party in the House of Representatives has picked up the proposal.

Legal and constitutional experts agree that nothing in the current election law prevents the President from taking sides, but some say he could be in violation of other laws, including those pertaining to conflicts of interest and abuse of state facilities. He could also be in violation of his own instructions made in November to all state officials, including heads of regional administrations, to remain neutral in the elections. Others say the president's behavior amounts to a breach of ethics. Jokowi said a president, like members of his cabinet, was not only a state officer, but also a politician with political rights.

None of the cabinet members running for office have resigned. Coordinating Political, Lega and Legal Affairs Minister Mahfud MD is contesting the presidential race as running mate to former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, and scores of other ministers are running for seats in the House of Representatives, all actively campaigning without relinquishing their jobs.

Last week rumors flew that some ministers planned to resign because they had grown uncomfortable serving the President in this political environment. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, whom Prabowo has picked as the main culprit for blocking his plan to procure weapons by cutting back the defense budget, is one minister rumored to be unhappy.

The rumors were quickly quashed by the ministers and the President, but the public discourse was sustained when Mahfud this week said he would step down "when the time is right." Mahfud said he had not used a single cent of government money on his campaign trail and that he always traveled alone, not accompanied by any ministry staff, noting that other ministers combined their official trips with campaigning in the regions.

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