Jokowi could run for vice-president in Indonesia’s 2024 election

INDONESIA’S President Joko Widodo could extend his time in government by running for the number two post in the 2024 presidential elections if he gets nominated, Kompas reported, citing a senior official from his party. 

There’s no constitutional rule preventing Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, from running as vice president, the local news outlet said, quoting Bambang Wuryanto, a senior official with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. Jokowi is on the last term of his presidency and is barred constitutionally from seeking a third term. 

Jokowi’s nomination as vice-presidential candidate would depend on the party’s chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, Wuryanto said. Megawati herself was Indonesia’s president from 1999 to 2004 and local media have speculated she would like to see her daughter run for the presidency. 

Since early this year, Indonesia’s political elite have openly discussed the possibility of amending the constitution to allow Jokowi to go for a third term. Critics say a third term for Jokowi would would herald a return to an era of former president Suharto who ruled for three decades with an iron fist until his ouster in 1998, after which Indonesia embraced a freer democracy. 

Proponents of the move argue it will help the government see through an ambitious infrastructure agenda, including relocating the capital to Borneo. Jokowi has dismissed speculation of an extended presidency, saying in a recent interview with Bloomberg News that he will abide by the constitution. BLOOMBERG