Power struggle between Indonesia's court and parliament sparks protests

22/8/2024 13:05

        Protests are planned in Indonesia on Thursday as parliament looks to annul changes to election laws made by the constitutional court, a reversal that could further strengthen the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo.
        
        The parliament's plan to unwind this week's court rulings would block a vocal government critic in the race for the influential post of Jakarta governor, and also pave the way for Widodo's youngest son to run in elections in Java this November.
        
        The power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world's third-largest democracy, and in the final stretch of the president's second term.
        
        Widodo downplayed the concerns, saying on Wednesday the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of the standard "checks and balances" of government.
        
        But legal experts and political analysts have described the events as bordering on a constitutional crisis.