Fitria Chusna Farisa, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is being urged to again declare his position in public on the discourse about extending the president's term in office.
It is important for Widodo to respond to the issue of postponing the 2024 legislative and presidential elections and to reaffirm his previously stated position of opposing a third term in office.
"There is no other way, the president must immediately appear [publically] and reaffirm his position of opposing a third term in office", Indicator Politic Indonesia researcher Bawono Kumoro told Kompas.com on Monday February 28.
This cannot be put off because the discourse on extending the presidential term has again come to the for following the issue of postponing the 2024 elections.
Some parties suspect that the government is playing a part in mobilising the political party elite to again enliven the debate.
In order to put an end to such accusations, according to Kumoro, whether he likes it or not, President Widodo must again appear in public and reaffirm his position of opposing a third term in office, and at the same time support the elections being held in 2024.
"If this is not done soon by President Jokowi then people can't be blamed if an assessment emerges among the public that the discourse on postponing the elections originated from the Palace", he said.
Kumoro suspects that the grand design behind the issue of postponing the elections originated from people around the president, both the political elite as well as the business community.
They are the groups who have benefited from power and feel anxious that their position of comfort will be undermined when Widodo's leadership comes to an end.
Because of this therefore, they have thrown up the proposal of postponing the elections with the hope of maintaining their benefits for longer.
Yet, according to Kumoro, the proposal is very counterproductive in terms of sustaining constitutional democracy in Indonesia and the wishes of the public.
A survey by Indicator Politic Indonesia in December 2021 showed that as many as 67.2 percent of respondents wanted the 2024 elections to go ahead even if the corona virus pandemic is not over.
Only 24.5 percent of respondents said they wanted the elections to be postponed until 2027 in order to prioritise handling the pandemic and economic recovery.
"It is very appropriate to doubt that the pretext behind this proposal is because of the pandemic or the pretext of economic recovery", he said.
The issue of extending the presidential term has again surfaced following a discourse about postponing the 2024 elections.
This time around, the discourse about postponing the elections was thrown up by National Awakening Party (PKB) General Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar.
He claimed that many accounts on social media agree with his proposal that the 2024 elections be postponed by one or two years.
According to big data analysis of discussion on social media, said Iskandar, out of 100 million subjects surveyed on social media, 60 percent support a postponement and 40 percent oppose it.
"Big data has begun to be a policy reference in decision making. Taking a position has shifted from before when it was guided by surveys, it's shifted to big data", explained Iskandar on Saturday February 26.
Iskandar's proposal is supported by the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Five other political parties meanwhile who have seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), namely the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Democrats (Nasdem), the Democrat Party, the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) and the United Development Party (PPP), have declared their opposition to the proposal. The Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) has yet to declare a position.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Jokowi Didorong Kembali Tegaskan Sikapnya soal Wacana Perpanjangan Masa Jabatan Presiden".]
