28 June 2024
Jokowi’s Legacies and the Incoming Prabowo Administration: Change or Continuity?
Executive Summary
Prabowo Subianto has won the 2024 Indonesian presidential election and will be sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president on 20 October 2024. This paper aims to outline key legacies of his predecessor Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) and develop several scenarios on how the Prabowo–Jokowi relationship could evolve and how it might help shape Prabowo’s policies during his upcoming five-year term (2024–2029). We argue that in addition to his accomplishments in bringing about economic and infrastructure development as well as political stability, Jokowi is leaving behind two significant legacies in the twilight of his presidency: (i) unprecedented use of state power to favour his preferred presidential candidate, and (ii) further recentralisation of state power through two newly enacted omnibus laws. Through Jokowi’s recalibration of presidential power, Prabowo will be inheriting a more powerful Indonesian presidency.
Executive Summary
Prabowo Subianto has won the 2024 Indonesian presidential election and will be sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president on 20 October 2024. This paper aims to outline key legacies of his predecessor Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) and develop several scenarios on how the Prabowo–Jokowi relationship could evolve and how it might help shape Prabowo’s policies during his upcoming five-year term (2024–2029). We argue that in addition to his accomplishments in bringing about economic and infrastructure development as well as political stability, Jokowi is leaving behind two significant legacies in the twilight of his presidency: (i) unprecedented use of state power to favour his preferred presidential candidate, and (ii) further recentralisation of state power through two newly enacted omnibus laws. Through Jokowi’s recalibration of presidential power, Prabowo will be inheriting a more powerful Indonesian presidency.
