Indonesia - August 2023
Parliament announces plans to amend constitution
Indonesia’s parliament announced plans to amend the constitution to permit the delay of elections in the event of an emergency. The speaker of the upper house of parliament also suggested that these changes should once again make the upper house the highest state institution, as it was under former dictator and president Suharto. The latter proposal was condemned by activists and legal experts, as it would grant parliament the power to end the direct election of presidents. Although the proposal to introduce a framework to delay elections caused less controversy and parliament stressed it would not amend the constitution before February 2024 elections, it is the latest of many explicit or implicit suggestions from allies of President Joko Widodo that he be allowed to stay on past his constitutionally-required term limit or that elections be delayed.
