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Indonesia

Monthly Event Reports

February 2024 | Indonesia holds general elections
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Indonesia held general elections on 14 February 2024 for president, vice president, both houses of parliament and local and regional offices. The General Elections Commission (KPU) is due to release final results no later than 20 March, but quick counts showing he secured over 50 per cent of the vote allowed Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto to declare victory in the presidential race on the evening of 14 February. Prabowo’s vice president will be Mayor of Sumatra, Gibran Rakabuming, the son of outgoing President Joko Widodo. Indonesia’s gender quota requires that 30 per cent of candidates, and every third candidate on an electoral list, be a woman. This post will be updated as final vote tallies for races are available.

December 2023 | Defamation law watered down after criticism

The Indonesian parliament revised the Law of the Republic of Indonesia No. 11 of 2008 Concerning Electronic Information and Transactions (known as the electronic information and transaction law (ITE)) on 5 December to raise the necessary standard for defamation and halving the maximum penalty from four years imprisonment to two. Human rights activists and lawyers had criticized the broad application of the law since its passage in 2008 and argued that it was misused by politicians to stifle public criticism. However, critics said the changes did not go far enough and the standard for defamation under the law continued to be too low and therefore subject to abuse.

November 2023 | Chief Justice demoted after election ruling

Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman was removed from his leadership post and will not be allowed to decide on election disputes, the court’s ethics council decided on 8 November. The council disciplined Anwar for failing to recuse himself from the 16 October decision that changed candidate minimum age provisions that allowed his nephew - and President Joko Widodo’s son - Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as a vice presidential candidate in 2024 general elections. The remaining judges who joined that opinion were also reprimanded. Legal analysts generally praised the ethics council’s decision, with some arguing that Anwar should have been removed from the court entirely. The ethics council does not have authority to question the validity of the ruling itself, but several petitions challenging the exception granted to Gibran are due to be shortly before the court.

October 2023 | Court clears way for Jokowi’s son

A 5-4 majority on Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled on 16 October that candidates under 40 who had been elected to regional-level positions would be eligible to run for president or vice president, opening the path for President Joko Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to contest next year’s presidential election. There were previously no exceptions to the age limit. On 23 October, current defense minister and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto named Gibran as his vice-presidential running mate. The decision raised concerns that Jokowi was attempting to retain political influence after leaving office next year ind building a family political dynasty. Supreme Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman is also Gibran’s uncle, with one of the dissenting judges stating that  the decision “can be described as beyond the limits of fair reasoning.”

Explore past monthly event reports

GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
276 361 790
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Joko Widodo (since 2014)
Head of government party
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
21.6%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2019
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
9.33
Head of state
President Joko Widodo
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority, with minimum regional distribution of the vote needed to win in first round)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
03/05/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
74.22%
Population Tooltip
276 361 790
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
President Joko Widodo (since 2014)
Head of government party
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
21.6%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2019
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
9.33
Head of state
President Joko Widodo
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority, with minimum regional distribution of the vote needed to win in first round)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
03/05/2017
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
74.22%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
State Party
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

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