JAKARTA – The Constitutional Court has kept the minimum age for Indonesia’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates at 40, but also ruled that this age limit does not apply to anyone who is an elected regional leader.

This decision effectively paves the way for Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s elder son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run for office in the February 2024 presidential election.

Mr Gibran, who is mayor of Surakarta city, turned 36 on Oct 1. 

The court ruling triggered demonstrations by hundreds of Indonesians to protest against what they say are moves that are undemocratic, and which allow for political dynasties to be established.

Mr Widodo on Monday said he would not be commenting on the rulings, lest he be seen as interfering with judicial authority, and that presidential and vice-presidential candidacies are determined by political parties.

The court on Monday rejected a petition to lower the candidates’ age limit from 40 to 35, in the first of several similar applications being heard on the same day.

Chief Justice Anwar Usman, who is Mr Widodo’s brother-in-law, led a panel of nine judges presiding over the matter.

The panel said determining the age limit for candidates was under the purview of lawmakers, and the petition had no “reasoning according to law”.

But later in the day – in its ruling on another petition – the court said that anyone who has previously held or currently holds a position elected through general elections, including regional elections, will be allowed to run in the 2024 election, regardless of the person’s age.

Four judges, however, had a dissenting opinion to this ruling. 

Indonesia is set to vote in presidential and legislative elections on Feb 14, 2024, and politicians have started campaigning, with billboards of presumptive candidates sprouting all over the archipelago.

Mr Gibran has not made any announcements about officially registering for the election, a process which starts later this week.

But in recent months, politicians supporting the presidential campaign of Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, leader of Gerindra party, have asked for Mr Gibran to be his running mate.

Such a move would likely boost Mr Prabowo’s odds of winning, say observers, given the likelihood that Mr Widodo and his supporters will throw their weight behind the minister.

Just over the weekend, Mr Prabowo received the backing of Mr Widodo’s biggest supporter group, ProJo, in a declaration at his private residence in South Jakarta.

Like his father, Mr Gibran is a member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, or PDI-P, which has announced that its candidate for president is former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo.

PDI-P responded to speculation about Mr Gibran’s possible team-up with Mr Prabowo by emphasising party loyalty among its members.

Recent opinion polls place Mr Prabowo and Mr Ganjar as front runners in a tight race, with a third would-be presidential hopeful, former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, trailing behind.

Monday’s ruling follows several judicial review requests that have called for the age limit to be lowered.

This includes one from Indonesian Solidarity Party, a youth-based political party that has criticised the limit for being discriminatory, and is chaired by Mr Kaesang Pangarep, Mr Widodo’s youngest son.

In a video statement uploaded to the presidential secretariat’s YouTube page on Monday, Mr Widodo said he did not want to comment on the ruling, and legal experts should be the one to assess it.

“I do not want to give an opinion on the Constitutional Court’s decision that could be misunderstood as if I were interfering with judicial authority,” he said.

On the issue of whether his son will run as a vice-presidential candidate, Mr Widodo said candidacy for the nation’s top two posts are determined by political parties.

Mr Gibran won the Surakarta mayoral seat in 2021.

Last Friday, Mr Widodo dismissed criticism that he was building a political dynasty as the end of his term – next October – drew nearer.

Responding to a reporter who asked about the issue, he said: “Just leave it to the people.”

Last Thursday, Mr Gibran was quoted by Indonesian daily Tempo as saying that it would be up to the people to decide if he was fit to serve, just like how the voters in Surakarta did when they elected him to office.

“Being given a ticket, or being welcomed with a red carpet, being afforded privileges – if the people don’t vote for me, then I will lose.

“The final decision will be made by the people, the public,” he said.