Indonesia scraps plan to change election law after thousands protest

Indonesian legislators have cancelled plans to ratify revisions to election laws, the deputy speaker of parliament says after thousands of people protested in front of the parliament building.

Parliament was preparing on Thursday to reverse a Constitutional Court order over candidate age requirements for upcoming regional polls, superseding a ruling that had made President Joko Widodo’s youngest son, 29-year-old Kaesang Pangarep, ineligible.

If implemented, the changes could have further enhanced the political influence of the outgoing president. Critics said the changes were aimed at installing a political dynasty.
But with thousands of protesters clamouring outside parliament, legislators said they had delayed an emergency session. Later, the deputy speaker said the proposed changes would be dropped for this election period in an apparent U-turn.
“It was officially decided that the revision of the Regional Election Law could not proceed. This means that the revision today was cancelled,” Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, told reporters after the clashes.
The protesters lit tyres on fire and set off firecrackers while chanting slogans against Widodo, who is more popularly known as Jokowi.
Source Al Jazeera

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