Deputy Speaker-Gov't Pulls Plan For Electoral Law Change

Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, one of the deputy speakers of the Indonesian parliament has confirmed that the legislature has dropped its plan to revise the regional election law after mass protests erupted in multiple cities opposed to the move. Critics claimed that the law marginalised small parties in favour of the unofficial alliance between President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and President-Elect Prabowo Subianto.

• Dasco posed on X: "The ratification of the revision of the regional election law which was planned for today, August 22, was CANCELLED, therefore, when registering for the regional elections on August 27, what will apply is the Constitutional Court's JR decision which granted the lawsuit of the Labor Party and the Gelora Party."
• The mass protests that broke out (see 'INDONESIA: Protests Test Gov't Resolve As Parl't Delays Electoral Law Vote', 1059BST) saw police utilise water cannon against demonstrators at the House of Representatives.
• With the gov't apparently backing down on the issue it remains to be seen whether this is enough to placate the protestors, or whether the shift of the demonstrations pivots to other perceived political injustices.