Indonesia: Presidential candidate age limit to go trial

Gibran Rakabuming Raka became the youngest vice-presidential candidate in Indonesia's history. (Photo: Boomberg)

Jakarta (VNA) - The Constitutional Court of Indonesia announced on November 7 that it will try a motion challenging its recent decision which amended the age limit of presidential and vice presidential candidates and opened the path for President Joko Widodo's eldest son to enter the upcoming election.

The announcement came just hours after the court's Honour Council removed Chief Justice Anwar Usman, who was found to have committed a serious breach of ethics and good conduct as a judge in relation to the controversial ruling.

The 2017 law on general elections mandated that presidential or vice-presidential candidates must be at least 40 years old. However, the court's decision altered the relevant article to state that a candidate "must be at least 40 years old or must have served or be serving in a public position through general elections, including regional government leader elections."

President Joko Widodo's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is currently 36 years old. Nevertheless, he became eligible to run for the election because he had been elected as the mayor of Solo. Within days of the October 16 ruling, Gibran was announced as the running mate for presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto./.

VNA