Presidential hopeful Baswedan says Indonesia’s democracy is declining and pledges change

By NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Indonesia (AP) — A former Jakarta governor seeking Indonesia’s presidency said democracy is declining in the country and pledged to make changes to get it back on track. Anies Baswedan said in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday that concerns about neutrality in the current government and the institution arose when frontrunner Prabowo Subianto picked the president’s son as his running mate. Baswedan said the issue of neutrality has not existed recently in Indonesia’s elections and “it means that many legal rules are being bent.” Baswedan and the third candidate, Ganjar Pranowo, have stayed in the second and third positions in opinion polls, and he said he is staying focused on ensuring February’s presidential election goes to a runoff.