Indonesia students protest alleged abuse of power by President Widodo ahead of election News
Indonesia students protest alleged abuse of power by President Widodo ahead of election

Hundreds of Indonesian students and activists held protests Monday over current President Joko Widodo’s actions in the run-up to elections on Wednesday. Protestors claim Widodo has abused his power by attempting to sway voters in favour of Prabowo Subianto, and Widodo’s son who is running as vice president.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, Aski Gejayan Memanggil, the protest’s organiser, highlighted Widodo’s “ethical and moral” breaches, and urged citizens to attend Monday’s protests. Memanggil’s most recent post describes Widodo’s ‘dirty’ election practises and details the problems faced by Indonesia’s people, including poverty and access to education. He argues that instead of addressing these issues, Widodo has instead focused on manipulating the upcoming elections, threatening democracy. The film “Dirty Vote” was also published on youtube on Sunday, criticising the elections, and has already reached 5 million views.

While Widodo has not endorsed any of the parties outright, he has staged several public appearances with Prabowo.

This is not the first time Prawabo’s campaign has presented issues, with vice-presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka being summoned by Indonesia’s election watchdog for questioning over a campaign violation. The Council on Foreign Relations states that Prawabo has “been accused by many watchdog groups as having a terrible human rights record,” and argues that “without links to the President, Gibran (the President’s son) would have been seen as too inexperienced to run for vice president.”

A survey published by Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) on Saturday has predicted a decisive victory for Prabowo, who is estimated to secure 51.9 percent of votes. Campaigning has now finished, as candidates are now prevented from staging campaigns in the run-up to elections, which are set to take place on Wednesday.