Testing Jokowi's Consistency About 3 Periods

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Twitter @jokowi)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo has stated he does not intend to extend his term of office as President of the Republic of Indonesia. This means that Jokowi does not want to run for president again in the 2024 presidential election.

In fact, Jokowi did not even approve of the amendments to the 1945 Law to smooth his steps as president for 3 terms.

However, some parties believe Jokowi will change his statement from refusing to accepting. If many have asked him to return as president.

One of them, former Deputy Chairman of the Gerindra Party, Arief Poyuono. He considered that the COVID-19 pandemic, which has a bad impact on health and the economy, currently requires special handling from experienced leaders like Jokowi.

Therefore, he believes that if the amendments to the 1945 NKRI Constitution have been revised and many people want it, Jokowi will certainly agree.

"If the constitution changes later, and if a large number of people presses him to come forward, I think he will," said Poyuono in a virtual discussion, Saturday, March 20.

Forward Driven Palace

The discourse on the 3 presidential terms was busy again after being touched on by Amien Rais. The founder of the Ummat Party considered that the issue was raised by the interests of Jokowi.

Political observer and Executive Director of the Indonesia Political Review (IPR), Ujang Komarudin, also suspected that President Jokowi was 'encouraged' by a number of parties at the Palace to continue his term of leadership into three terms.

"Maybe there are people around him who are pushing Jokowi for three terms, advancing again in the 2024 presidential election. Most of them are from the Palace circle," said Ujang recently.

Ujang assessed that those in the Palace circle again pushed Jokowi forward in the 2024 Presidential Election because they were worried that if Jokowi stepped down as president, those parties would lose their seats in power.

Meanwhile, Constitutional Law Expert, Refly Harun, doubts Jokowi's victory if he is willing to run again as president for 3 terms.

Although according to him, this discourse will move in the circle of power of the Palace which of course has an interest. Where, when faced with the issue of an extension of their term of office, they hope that President Jokowi will be re-elected in the third term.

"The question is whether the palace will be unified? I doubt that," Refly said in a virtual discussion on the Polemik Trijaya entitled Misteri 2024, Saturday, March 20.

According to Refly, the lack of cohesiveness in the palace to support Jokowi in the third term is because each political party already has its own presidential candidate. Moreover, there are parties waiting for the ball to be scored if Jokowi no longer registers as a presidential candidate.

"For example, if the agenda is pushed, does Gerindra want it? Because Prabowo must think, well, this is the time (to become president, red) because there are no more competitors who tackle him twice," said Refly.

Jokowi's inconsistency

President Joko Widodo has reiterated that he has no intention of becoming president for three terms. This statement was conveyed by Jokowi in response to the issue of the plan to amend the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia to increase the term of office of the president.

"What else should I say? Back and forth, my attitude has not changed. I emphasize that I have no intention. I have no intention of becoming president for three terms. The constitution mandates two terms. That is what we must protect together," said Jokowi on Monday, March 15th.

However, it turns out that the former mayor of Solo has also made repeated affirmations. In the past, related to his statement which prohibited ministers from holding concurrent positions.

Jokowi emphasized that those who will fill ministerial positions in his government cabinet together with the elected vice president Jusuf Kalla cannot hold concurrent structural positions in political parties.

"What I conveyed from the start is that. Yes," said Jokowi during his visit to the Ciliwung-East Flood Canal sodetan project, Jakarta, Tuesday, August 26, 2014.

Jokowi assured them that multiple positions could make the minister's work unfocused.

"One position is not necessarily successful, let alone two," said Jokowi.

Jokowi's statement about concurrent ministerial positions was even said twice.

"It has not been said. How come it's still being repeated," said Jokowi after meeting the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea at the Merdeka Palace, North Medan Merdeka Street, Jakarta, Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

The decision, said Jokowi, was final and was the presidential prerogative. "Multiple positions are not allowed. Working in one place is not necessarily the right one. That is the prerogative of the president," he concluded.

If it is pulled further back, Jokowi apparently refused to become President of the Republic of Indonesia in the first term. At that time he was still governor of DKI Jakarta.

Joko Widodo admitted that he had never thought about running as a presidential candidate. Jokowi argued that he had only briefly been the leader of Jakarta. Apart from that, he was also not included in the structure of the PDI-P DPP.

"That's why, every time I am asked, I answer I don't think because I really don't think. Because the logic is impossible," said Jokowi while attending the National Leadership Meeting of the Indonesian Islamic Da'wah Institute (LDII) at Balai Kartini, Jakarta, Tuesday, May 13, 2014.

Considered Jokowi's Statement to Change

Constitutional Law Expert, Refly Harun, believes that President Joko Widodo could be caught up in the issue of 3 terms. Because according to him, Jokowi is also a politician who has been inconsistent with his words several times.

"How do we talk about the consistency of a politician? Jokowi has already demonstrated the inconsistency, for example when he banned concurrent positions in the first period," Refly said in a discussion on the Polemik Trijaya entitled Misteri 2024, Saturday, March 20.

"I remember that Wiranto had to choose to become a Hanura chairman or a minister. Cak Imin was also asked to vote and say that he chose PKB even though actually becoming a minister was also in the process of consideration," he added.

However, continued Refly, in the second term, many of Jokowi's ministers held concurrent positions. However, Jokowi did not mind.

"We know that Airlangga is the party chairman, Prabowo then Suharso and even Moeldoko can take over the leadership of the party when he is still the KSP. Now this shows that the inconsistency of the politician can be seen from both positive and negative sides," explained Refly.

Refly explained that from the positive side, it is true that the wave of change needs to be addressed in a different way.

"We previously said B, but in a negative way, this can't be held. A statement like that is a statement that can be issued at any time, but there is no legal consequence.

Even though the commitment was not obeyed, he said, it turned out that later he could be elected even though he took inconsistent steps.

"Because political punishment is not straightforward either. So when someone is different from what was said before, it is not certain that he or she is not elected the same, as a political party is inconsistent or not necessarily re-elected because the electoral logic is different," said Refly.