Prabowo Subianto won Indonesia’s presidency on February 14, 2024, with 58 percent of the vote. It was his fifth try. The former general and defense minister had lost four earlier elections.
His running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the eldest son of the outgoing president, Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi. The pair were due to be inaugurated in the following months, after the Constitutional Court dealt with challenges from two losing candidates, who asked for a re-run of the election and for Gibran’s disqualification, citing “structural, systematic, and massive” violations.
The age ruling
Much of the criticism begins with how Gibran got on the ticket. The Constitutional Court lowered the minimum age for presidential and vice presidential candidates from 40 to 35, which let Gibran, who was 36, run. Chief Justice Usman is Jokowi’s brother-in-law. The ruling set off public anger over nepotism and what critics saw as abuse of law and ethics. Earlier, the court had turned down similar requests, citing parliament’s jurisdiction over the question. Trust in the court has fallen since.
Critics argued that the campaign promoted a political dynasty and manipulated voters. A Universitas Indonesia scholar’s commentary went further, calling the vote possibly the worst election since democratization in 1998 and describing the result as the product of “Machiavellian tactics.” That is one analyst’s view, not a court finding.
Jokowi’s role
The same commentary accused Jokowi of tilting the field. A year before the vote he said openly that he would intervene in the election. He went on what the piece calls a “political safari,” meeting volunteer groups, village head associations and religious organizations, and accompanied Prabowo on trips around the country. Jokowi never openly endorsed the pair, but critics read his language and gestures as support, and Prabowo’s campaign stressed continuing Jokowi’s policies.
Allegations included handing out social aid early and raising salaries for civil servants, police and the military, and using state resources to mobilize voters through incentives or threats.
Prabowo and democracy
Prabowo spent the campaign recasting himself from a strongman and ultra-nationalist into an affable uncle. Critics note that he was also filmed on camera making remarks about rivals at rallies. In his victory speech after the quick count, he voiced displeasure with Indonesia’s democracy. He has called for a return to the 1945 Constitution, the legal basis for centralized governance and strong executive power, and has urged elite unity and the backing of all political parties for his administration. The commentary’s author reads that as an intent to take full control of parliament and dismantle checks and balances. Supporters have not been heard in that account.
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