Indonesia’s top judge ordered to resign over ruling allowing Joko Widodo’s son to run as VP

A judicial panel in Indonesia has ordered the country's Chief Justice, Anwar Usman, to resign. This decision was made on Tuesday after the panel found Anwar guilty of ethical violations. These violations were related to a ruling that allowed President Joko Widodo's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to run in the upcoming election. The panel had investigated Anwar's involvement in this ruling, which was made last month and paved the way for Gibran to run as vice-president in the general and legislative election in February. Anwar had presided over the constitutional court, which consists of nine judges, and led the controversial ruling regarding the age limit of presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

The panel's verdict stated that Anwar, who is also Widodo's brother-in-law, should have recused himself from the case due to his conflict of interest. Many legal experts and observers have described the court's verdict as undemocratic. The public outcry that followed the ruling led to hopes that Anwar would be dismissed from his position. Despite the panel's order for Anwar to step down as Chief Justice, he can continue to serve as one of the court's nine judges. However, Anwar must recuse himself from any future election-related cases if there is a potential conflict of interest.

Jimly Asshiddiqie, who headed the panel, stated that the investigation also found that Anwar and the other judges had collectively violated the constitutional judges' ethical behaviour code. Political analyst Wasisto Raharjo Jati expressed that many people had hoped for Anwar's dismissal. In the event of another election-related ruling, there could have been a significant conflict of interest if Anwar was involved, according to Wasisto. This situation would have been alarming for Indonesian democracy.