Asian Angle | Will Indonesia’s democracy and judiciary retreat further after Widodo’s exit?
The country’s anti-corruption agency and courts weakened under Joko Widodo as he set out to create a family political dynasty
This has been marked by attacks on – and direct interventions in – the anti-corruption commission and the Constitutional Court. Both were formerly key government watchdog institutions. It has also involved intimidating and weakening the civil society organisations that helped deliver democratisation to Indonesia after the fall of former dictator Suharto in 1998.
Despite this, Widodo’s popularity has remained at over 70 per cent. In recent years, supporters have even proposed constitutional amendments to allow him to run for a third term. While these did not go anywhere, Widodo remains determined to maintain power and influence after he leaves office.
Widodo’s vice-president son
These efforts started earlier this year in the lead-up to Indonesia’s presidential election.
Abandoning the party that had backed his rise to power, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Widodo threw his weight behind Prabowo by offering up one of his sons, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate.
