Indonesia decides to keep direct local elections

Jakarta

INDONESIA's Parliament agreed to preserve direct local elections for governors and mayors, a sign that President Joko Widodo is succeeding in neutralising opposition from lawmakers to his legislative agenda.

The outgoing Parliament voted in September to replace direct local polls - a system that allowed Mr Joko to rise from mayor to governor to president - and return to local legislators picking regional leaders. Then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued an emergency decree in October to reverse the decision after a public backlash against the vote.