In 2024 Indonesia Will Have 2 Presidents For 8 Months, Some Will Become 'Lame Duck'

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JAKARTA - Muslim scholar Prof. Azyumardi Azra assessed that the long lag time from the presidential election to the inauguration of the elected candidates made the incumbent president like a "lame duck".

"What is meant here as a 'lame duck', is that the incumbent president can no longer issue effective and strategic policies, because there is already a new president and vice president, even though they have not been sworn in yet", said Azyumardi in a statement in Jakarta, Saturday, June 25. from Antara.

Prof. Azyumardi Azra stated that the Presidential Election on February 14, 2024, until the inauguration of the elected President on October 20, 2024, is a long lag time. That means there are about eight months.

The oddity that is formed is that Indonesia seems to have 'two' Presidents, namely the president who is still in office, and the elected president, the result of the election.

Moreover, continued Azyumardi, if after the election there was a lawsuit to the Constitutional Court (MK), then the Court ratified the election of the President and Vice President of the 2024 Presidential Election, the legitimacy of the elected president would be even stronger. On the other hand, the incumbent president will increasingly become a "lame duck".

Such a situation, continued Azyumardi, would result in a government vacuum for eight months, or it could potentially lead to government disorientation.

However, Azyumardi realized that the decision was difficult to change. So that this becomes an important lesson for members of parliament as a result of the 2024 legislative election.

"Hopefully the members of Parliament as a result of the 2024 Pilleg will improve this so that our democratic practice will improve", said Azyumardi.

SMRC Executive Director Sirojuddin Abbas confirmed that immediately after the presidential election, either round one or two, the incumbent president's influence or bargaining position is likely to decline among his political allies. Period "lame duck" will occur for 8 or 4 months.

"That's when the political allies will go to the winner or the elected president. The House of Representatives (DPR) also begins to be unresponsive to the wishes of the incumbent president", said Sirojudin.

Another influence, continued Sirojudin, is the decline in the influence of the president who serves in government organizations, especially in ministries led by political party backgrounds. Bureaucratic work was hampered.

"Our bureaucracy tends to be closer to the shadow cabinet or winning team", he said.

Meanwhile, the observer of strategic issues Prof Imron Cotan said "lame duck" will have implications for the use of the state budget, "state procurement".

According to Imron, the government affected by the lame-duck situation will not use the state budget optimally. And if that happens, he continued, the country's economy will be disrupted.

"State spending is important to rotate the national economy because Indonesia and other countries in the world are also facing market disruption, as a result of several things, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war", said Imron.

So, according to Imron, what must be a common concern is that the implementation of the State Budget (APBN) in 2024 is not disrupted, and collective policies from the elite are needed to unite attitudes to overcome this period.

Because, according to him, if this is not anticipated, then Indonesia has the potential to fall into an economic and social crisis, which is not desired by all parties.

"We heard that President Jokowi stated that 60 countries were heading towards the current economic crisis, and some of them had even gone bankrupt. Like Sri Lanka, there is no government, there are no more public services. Don't let Indonesia go that way", said Imron.