(Oct 16): Indonesia’s constitutional court ruled in favour of an appeal to lower the minimum age for presidential and vice-presidential candidates with legislative or regional leadership experience, paving way for younger contenders, including the president’s son.

Under the condition, any candidates younger than 40 years old can still run for the nation’s top two posts, the court said in a ruling on Monday. For those without the experience — such as being a lawmaker, governor or mayor — they still need to be at least 40 years old to be eligible to contest.

Chief Justice Anwar Usman — who’s also a brother-in-law of President Joko Widodo — presided over proceedings. Registrations for candidates are set to open in just three days through Oct 25.

The court’s ruling is final and binding. That means the country’s Election Commission will have to amend its electoral process based on the ruling and present it to parliament as formality.

Political dynasty

The ruling is set to fuel further criticisms that Widodo, better known as Jokowi, is entrenching a political dynasty, as it effectively allows his eldest son, 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to seek higher office. The petition to amend the age limit was filed by a political party now chaired by Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep.

Gibran, who’s currently the mayor of the president’s hometown of Solo, has already been touted as a potential vice-presidential candidate. One of the front runners for the presidency, current Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, has publicly offered Gibran to be his running mate.

The ruling could be a boost for Prabowo’s campaign and earn him support from Jokowi, who still enjoys an all-time-high approval rating of 86%, based on Indikator Politik’s latest survey in October.

If that scenario takes place, it could increase tensions between Jokowi and his ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle or PDI-P. Both Jokowi and Gibran are members of the party. Supporting Prabowo would mean breaking ranks, given that the party is pushing for former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo as the Indonesia’s next leader.

Jokowi recently dismissed any notion that he’s building a political dynasty. “Leave it to the people,” he said. On top of his two politically active sons, Jokowi’s son-in-law is currently the mayor of Medan — one of Indonesia’s largest cities.

Political influence

Having a son in higher office could give Jokowi the political heft to influence future policies beyond his second and final term in office. And there’s plenty at stake: the US$34 billion (RM160.48 billion) construction of Indonesia’s new capital city in Borneo that’s a major plank of his legacy.

The plaintiffs that pushed for lowering the minimum age argued that the limit was holding back the nation’s many competent youths. Indonesia’s population skews young, with about half of its people aged 34 years or younger.

Meanwhile, those opposing the change said the constitutional court lacks the authority to decide on the matter while raising their concern over the court’s potential conflict of interest, given the chief justice is Jokowi’s brother-in-law. Parliament should be the avenue to make those changes, critics have argued.