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Push for Jokowi’s term extension intensifies
Analysts warn against populist narrative behind election delay proposal.
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T
he political maneuvering pushing for an extension of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s term beyond 2024 appears to be intensifying even after the controversial proposal was met with strong resistance from major political parties within the ruling coalition and the opposition.
Since mid-March, banners bearing the slogan, "The Hope of Indonesian People #2024StayLoyalWithJokowi”, have been visible across Palembang, South Sumatera, Jambi and South Lampung. The banners, which were put up by the volunteer group Koalisi Bersama Rakyat (With the People Coalition), were meant to create the impression that there was overwhelming grassroots support for Jokowi’s third term.
On Tuesday, Jokowi attended the national gathering of the Village Administration Association (Adepsi) at the Senayan sports center in Jakarta, during which thousands of village heads reportedly chanted their support for the extension of his term.
Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan, a close ally of Jokowi believed to have played a central role in orchestrating the push to delay the 2024 general elections, delivered a keynote speech at the event.
‘People’s wish’
Adepsi executive board chairman Surta Wijaya said the association had been planning to declare its official support for Jokowi’s third term on Tuesday night but was prohibited from doing so by ministry representatives and the presidential security detail. “We will declare it after Idul Fitri,” Surta said on Thursday, adding that the group would install banners supporting an extension of Jokowi’s term across the country.
Surta’s claim, however, has been refuted by Arifin Abdul Majid, who claimed to have held the official leadership of Adepsi, according to tempo.co. He deplored Surta’s political statement, saying, “we don’t want to go into politics”.
On Wednesday, during a working visit to Magelang, Central Java, Jokowi met with a number of locals at the airport and in markets who also reportedly chanted and asked for him to serve for a third term. When asked about the support, the former Jakarta governor said he would obey the Constitution, but it was the aspiration of the people.
“I have often heard such a wish and calls like that from people,” he said in a statement released by the Cabinet Secretariate on Wednesday. “However,” he added, “our Constitution is clear. We must obey, we must follow the Constitution.”
The series of events came after Luhut claimed that he had received “big data” analysis showing that most Indonesians were in favor of delaying the election, sparking speculations that they were staged to further the interest of those in support of extending Jokowi’s power, which could only be done through a Constitutional amendment.
‘Evil conspiracy’
Major political parties have objected to the proposal to delay the election and have openly criticized the political nature of the Adepsi gathering.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party within the ruling coalition, and of which the President is a member, was not amused by the actions of the village heads taking part in the gathering. "Promoting village progress is a far more important task for the village heads,” PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said, slamming the village heads who he said were mobilized to voice certain political aspirations that had the potential to violate the Constitution.
The Democratic Party, the largest opposition party, accused the President of orchestrating the political maneuvering to delay the elections, including the holding of the Adepsi gathering that was also attended by his other ministers.
Herzaky Mahendra Putra, the party’s spokesperson, slammed the event as a “show of force”, suggesting that the village heads were mobilized by the political clique who had failed to gain support from the political parties.
“The evil conspiracy to retain power is again being orchestrated by the oligarchs to make it look as if [the push for Jokowi’s third term] were the aspirations from below. A number of executives of the Village Administration Association were pushed to voice their support for three periods," he said.
Populist narrative
Titi Anggraini of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) said that as an amendment was needed to extend the presidential term, proponents of the agenda would likely keep pushing their campaign.
“This is an effort to build a populist narrative that the third term proposal comes from the grassroots, and it is the public who wants Jokowi to continue his reign,” Titi said.
She added that the public needed to see these campaigns with a critical eye, as efforts or propaganda to influence public opinion could be underway. “The public needs to check and recheck again to stop themselves from being easily manipulated by the efforts of certain groups to form public opinion and promote the third term,” Titi said.
Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a researcher at the Research Center for Politics at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), said the push for Jokowi’s third term could be “by design” or “by accident”.
“It is possible that it is by design, since we have seen the maneuvering of the elites who are testing the water by issuing statements about [Jokowi’s] third term,” he said.
He added, however, that, “It could be by accident, as in there is a congruence between public support and Jokowi’s populist policies, so this is unintentional momentum that has caused the third term narrative to grow in the grassroots.” (ahw)
