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On August 22, protests broke out in Indonesia, and the parliament, which was involved in the turmoil, announced a recess on the same day. Previously, a legislative group in the parliament hastily proposed a draft bill to adjust the threshold standards for local elections, such as age factors and nomination methods, which was contrary to the previous decision of the Constitutional Court and was seen by critics as a benefit to President Joko, President-elect Prabowo and their political allies.

On August 20, the Indonesian Constitutional Court ruled that candidates for local government head elections would be eligible to run if they received nominations from 10% of the corresponding local council members, which is much lower than the previous 20%; candidates for the upcoming local elections must meet the minimum age limit of 30 years old at the time of nomination.

In the current Indonesian political landscape, the Constitutional Court's ruling means that Anies, the former Jakarta governor and one of the candidates for the 2024 presidential election, has the opportunity to participate in the Jakarta gubernatorial election and will not lose his eligibility just because pro-Jokowi and pro-Prabowo parties such as the Professional Group Party and the Great Indonesia Movement Party control the majority of seats. The ruling also means that Jokowi's youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, will not be able to participate in the Central Java gubernatorial election in November this year because he will not turn 30 in December, and registration for this election is scheduled to be held at the end of August.

However, after the Constitutional Court's ruling, a panel in Congress hastily proposed a draft bill on August 21, attempting to establish the nomination threshold for local elections in the form of legislation, restoring the threshold requirements to the regulations before the Constitutional Court's ruling on the 20th, which aroused strong dissatisfaction from public opinion. If the bill is passed, Kassan will be eligible to run for election again.

The current president, Joko Widodo, will leave office in October. According to Xinhua News Agency, Joko Widodo delivered his last state of the nation address at the Parliament Building in the capital Jakarta on the 16th, reviewing the main achievements of his ten-year presidency and wishing the next president, Prabowo, good luck. Less than a week later, protests broke out in front of the Parliament Building.

Changes in local election thresholds spark discontent

According to Reuters, on August 22, thousands of people gathered outside the parliament, holding signs accusing Joko of "nepotism" and "undermining democracy." Some protesters set fires on the road and even broke through part of the gate of the parliament. Security forces deployed tear gas and water cannons to control the situation. The head of the Central Jakarta Police Force said they deployed at least 3,200 police officers to prevent clashes.

Before the outbreak of the protest on the 22nd, several Indonesian trade unions, student groups, and political parties launched a call for students, workers, and other people in Jakarta and surrounding areas to gather in front of the parliament to protest. On the social platform "X" (formerly Twitter), topics such as "Protect the Constitutional Court's Decision" (#KawalPutusanMK) and "Pray for Indonesia" (#PrayForIndonesia) became hot searches. In addition to Jakarta, students and other protesters held demonstrations in major Indonesian cities such as Yogyakarta, Semarang, Makassar, and Bandung.

According to Bloomberg and other financial media, Indonesian assets were hit in the early trading on the 22nd, with the benchmark stock index falling 1% at one point before recovering; the Indonesian rupiah fell 0.5% against the US dollar, the worst performance among Asian currencies.

In the face of the wave of protests, the Indonesian Parliament announced a recess. Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on the 22nd that the meeting failed to reach the quorum. The Democratic Struggle Party, the largest party in the parliament that broke with Joko, seems to have adopted a strategy of boycotting parliamentary procedures and plans to submit a memorandum of objection.

However, the nomination deadline for the 2024 local elections is August 26, which is next Monday. It is now almost impossible for the Indonesian Parliament to push the new election law through before the nomination deadline. Reuters said this means that there will be no changes to the rules for the local elections in November.

Political unrest before Jokowi leaves office

Analysts pointed out that the above events showed the confrontation between the legislative and judicial branches. The fragmented Indonesian political arena is becoming more and more intense, and the public mood seems to be getting more and more angry.

The protests on August 22 showed that the Jokowi government, which holds a majority of seats in parliament, is trying to demonstrate "ultimate jurisdiction" in establishing election rules. Reuters said that Indonesian legal experts and election analysts warned that the standoff between Indonesia's legislative and judicial branches is pushing the country into a constitutional crisis. Jokowi tried to downplay the severity of the conflict, saying on August 22 that it was a manifestation of "checks and balances" between different departments.

Jokowi is known as a "political novice" in Indonesian society and politics, but in recent times, his gesture to strengthen his political influence has become more obvious. In May this year, a small pro-Jokowi party submitted a petition requesting that the "30-year-old age threshold" in local elections be interpreted as "30 years old when sworn in", which clearly paves the way for Jokowi's son Kasan to run in the election. After the petition was submitted, three judges of the Supreme Court approved the petition within three days. The Supreme Court's ruling in May was overturned by the Constitutional Court on August 20.

Similarly, in October last year, the Constitutional Court, headed by Anwar Usman, Joko's brother-in-law, made a ruling to adjust the threshold for vice presidential elections, and Joko's eldest son, Gibran, was qualified to participate in the 2024 general election. Gibran eventually ran for election with Prabowo, who has a close relationship with Joko, and was successfully elected vice president in February this year.

In the February election, Jokowi broke with his former party, the Democratic Struggle Party. On August 21, Bahlil Lahadalia, Jokowi's confidant and current Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, was elected as the leader of the Golkar Party. This is a long-established party that originated from the former President Suharto period. Since the political reform in Indonesia in 1998, it has participated in almost all ruling coalitions and became the second largest party in the February parliamentary election. Lianhe Zaobao quoted an analysis saying that this created an opportunity for Jokowi, who is about to step down as president, to join the Golkar Party. Jokowi hopes to continue to exert political influence after leaving office. Jokowi has "fallen out" with the Democratic Struggle Party and must rely on the power of other political parties to achieve the above goals.

Reuters quoted a senior member of the Golkar as saying: "How will Jokowi continue to maintain contact and strike a balance with the new government after he leaves office? He must take over (the political party), but he cannot take over the Golkar directly. Bahril has proven his loyalty over the years and Jokowi trusts him." According to the Jakarta Post, Gol National Congress Chairman Addis said that if Jokowi really joins the party, he could serve as chairman of the party's advisory group.

On the one hand, Jokowi is extremely popular in Indonesia, setting a record of maintaining high approval ratings before leaving office; but on the other hand, his recent intensive actions have caused more and more public opposition. Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at the Yusof Ishak Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, commented on the protests on the 22nd in an interview with the media, saying that "this is a climax", indicating that some Indonesians "have reached a critical point of anger and frustration".