Indonesia's top court rules against lowering presidential candidates' age limit, but adds exception

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Chief Judge Anwar Usman presides over the hearing on a petition seeking to lower the minimum age of presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

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Judges preside over the hearing on a petition seeking to lower the minimum age of presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

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Chief Judge Anwar Usman, center, presides over the hearing on a petition seeking to lower the minimum age of presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

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Activists shout slogans during a rally supporting the lowering of minimum age of presidential and vice presidential candidates, outside the Constitutional Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

By EDNA TARIGAN and NINIEK KARMINI

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top court on Monday ruled against lowering the minimum age of presidential and vice presidential candidates as the country gears up for election in 2024, but allowed an exception for those who served or been elected as regional leaders allowing them to run at younger age.

The ruling could pave the way for President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, to run in the election next year.

Gibran, who currently serves as Mayor of Surakarta, hasn’t announced that he would run. But politicians publicly backing former general Prabowo Subianto running for the 2024 presidential election have tapped Gibran to become his running mate. Gibran is currently 36.

The Constitutional Court’s decision is final.

In August, seven politicians — including from the Indonesian Solidarity Party chaired by the youngest son of current President Joko Widodo — filed a petition against the current age limit for candidates, asking it to be lowered to 35 instead of 40, arguing it was discriminatory.

The 7-to-2 decision by the nine-judge panel of the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments, saying it wasn’t the court’s role to change the age limit for candidates and that it was up to the parliament to set such laws.

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The additional phrase to article 169 of the General Election Law came in response to a separate petition filed in August by a college student, Almas Tsaqibbirru, who suggested the amendment.

Chief Justice Anwar Usman said the article in the General Election Law in full would read candidates at least 40 years old “or those who served or currently holding a position as regional leader through the elections.”

Tsaqibbirru’s lawyer, Arif Suhadi, welcomed the court’s decision, saying the ruling will encourage young leaders to compete with older leaders.

Suhadi said the petition was not filed “for personal interest but for public interest,” and the ruling will help reform Indonesia’s election law.

However, four of the nine-judge panel expressed their concern over why the other five ruled in favor of the second petition. One of them, Judge Saldi Isra questioned the reason behind the ruling. He said that during his decades-long career, “this is the first time” to have experienced such a ruling.

Monday’s rulings could significantly influence the political landscape of the upcoming presidential election because some suspected the petition sought to facilitate Gibran’s running for election, said Dominique Nicky Fahrizal, a political analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

He said that by for the second petition, “the public will consider the Constitutional Court as an instrument that can be controlled by those in power who wish to legitimize a particular political agenda.”

Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy, is set to vote in simultaneous legislative and presidential elections in February 2024.

Indonesia’s top court rules against lowering presidential candidates’ age limit, but adds exception