Thousands of students demonstrate against a suspected election postponement

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

Thousands of students protested a hike in food prices and a probable extension of President Joko Widodo's term in office across Indonesia on Monday.

Students rallied in South Sulawesi, West Java, and Jakarta, wearing neon jackets and raising megaphones, in response to reports that President Widodo may try to postpone the 2024 general elections in order to stay in power.

The country's two-term limit would be violated.
Widodo is in the closing years of his second term, with the next election scheduled for 2024.

 

Demonstrators screamed about defending Indonesia's democracy and reining in the country's increasing fuel and food prices.

"We demand that politicians do not modify the country's constitution," one protest organiser, named only as Kaharuddin, told The Associated Press.
"We want them to pay attention to people's wishes."

The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.

 

A university instructor who was engaged in the protest was beaten and stamped on by a "nonstudent" gang, according to Jakarta police.
According to authorities, six officers who attempted to assist the instructor were also harmed.

In order to avoid a repeat of the strongman regime,

Monday's rallies recalled those of nearly two decades ago, when student-led demonstrations ousted President Suharto's dictatorship, which had ruled with an iron fist for decades.
In 1998, he was deposed.

 

According to recent polls, Widodo has maintained some popularity, unlike Suharto.

However, "Jokowi," as the president is popularly called, has been chastised for failing to speak out aggressively against reports of a possible postponement of the February 2024 elections.

Rising tensions have been fanned by powerful political players, including two ministers, who publicly favoured a postponed election.

Widodo has publicly expressed his opposition to the plan.
He told his cabinet last week to focus on addressing the country's economic woes, stressing that "nobody should bring up a (presidential) term extension or election delay anymore.”

However, there is still a lot of doubt about the president's intentions.