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WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2015 INTERNATIONAL Indonesia’s Widodo marks disappointing first year in power JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo cised for backsliding in the fight against cor- projects, and Widodo’s attempts to attract new national police chief-a move observers said was based on flawed evidence. took office last year on hopes that an outsider ruption in one of the world’s most graft-rid- investors were undercut by protectionist poli- believe was aimed at keeping the powerful The execution by firing squad in April of and “man of the people” would swiftly usher in den nations, and his image abroad has been cies unilaterally announced by ministers, such head of his party and political patron, two Australians, a Brazilian and four Nigerians a new era of cleaner, more effective gover- tarnished by the execution of foreign drug as the abrupt cancellation of thousands of Megawati Sukarnoputri, on side. for drugs offences sparked international out- nance. Twelve months on, critics say those convicts. import licences. A year on, economic growth rage, and ally Australia took the unprecedent- hopes have come to nought. Widodo, known “It has been a rocky first year for Joko is languishing at a six-year low and the rupiah ‘Determined dolphin’ ed step of withdrawing its ambassador from by his nickname “Jokowi”, swept to power on a Widodo,” said Professor Jeffrey Winters, an has fallen heavily. The nomination triggered a row between Jakarta in protest. wave of popular support for his hands-on Indonesia expert from Northwestern While global market turmoil has played a the notoriously corrupt police and the popular Despite all his problems, some analysts approach and his image as a corruption-free, University in the United States. “The major role, Widodo has also faced criticism for anti-graft agency, which accused the nominee nevertheless see signs he is finding his feet-he fresh face in a country long dominated by oli- Indonesian people are tired of business as not doing enough to fix the economy-his of bribery. Widodo withdrew the candidate, was praised for an August cabinet reshuffle garchs from the era of dictator Suharto. The usual and they voted for Jokowi to bring main focus. In a recent BBC interview, he but only after dithering, by which point the that replaced key economic ministers, and a former Jakarta governor, who would cam- change-but there hasn’t been much change.” defended his record, saying that reforming anti-corruption body had been severely weak- recent series of stimulus measures. “He’s still paign in the slums wearing casual clothes, was the economy was a “long process”, adding: “It ened by attacks from the police. His popularity very weak, but he is progressing,” said Achmad elected after a bruising battle against a con- Languishing economy takes time to manage a country as big as has been sliding ever since. A survey by poll- Sukarsono, an Indonesia analyst from risk con- troversial ex-general with a chequered human The president took office on October 20, Indonesia.” ster Indo Barometer this month showed public sultancy Eurasia Group. Northwestern rights record, becoming the country’s first 2014 and got off to a good start by cutting For many Indonesians, an even bigger dis- satisfaction with Widodo at 46 percent in University’s Winters said the president can still leader from outside the political and military fuel price subsidies that ate up a huge chunk appointment has been what they see as September, down from 57 percent in March. keep support by playing to his down-to-earth elite. of the government’s budget, freeing up bil- Widodo’s failure to step up the fight against For allies overseas who had welcomed a image. But running the world’s fourth most-popu- lions of dollars to invest in boosting the slow- graft, in a country where facing demands for fresh face in the presidency, there was disbe- “The Indonesian people will cut him slack lous country has proved even more difficult. ing economy. kickbacks is just part of everyday life for many. lief at Widodo’s drive to put foreign drug con- if he can maintain the image that he is a deter- Widodo’s plans to kick-start the economy But red tape and a lack of organisation In particular, the president faced criticism over victs to death in the name of fighting a mined dolphin swimming in a pool of menac- have made little progress, he has been criti- hampered efforts to launch vital infrastructure his nomination of a controversial figure as the national narcotics “emergency” that experts ing sharks,” he said. — AFP Ouattara seeks re-election in test of country’s stability ABIDJAN: Five years after winning office in a Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) set up by the coun- vote marred by violence, Ivory Coast President try’s founding father Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Alassane Ouattara looks set to win a new man- Ouattara needs “a strong vote”, said his biog- date Sunday in an election seen as critical to rapher Cisse Ibrahim Bacongo. “That is how he sealing the peace. will win unquestionable legitimacy.” But his Ouattara’s election campaign has focused on camp is worried. “Our enemy is abstention,” said his efforts to revive the economy of the world’s Alphonse Soro, a parliamentarian who heads top cocoa producer, ravaged by months of post- the RDR youth movement. “The problem is how election violence in 2010-2011 in which some to convince people to come out and vote.” 3,000 people died. But voter apathy and opposi- tion criticism of the country’s electoral commis- Gbagbo’s ghost sion threaten to undermine the credibility of the As criticism of the election commission October 25 vote. mounts, former foreign affairs minister Amara Photos circulating on social media this week Essy suspended his candidacy “to avoid becom- show staff soundly sleeping in offices where ing an accomplice in an electoral masquerade”. Ivory Coast’s 6.3 million voters can pick up their “If we don’t take care we’ll head into a post- election ID cards, highlighting a lack of public election crisis that will be one post-election crisis interest in the ballot. too many,” he warned. Just days before the vote, the national elec- Three days later he was followed by another toral commission (CEI) decided to extend distri- eminent contender for the top job, ex-parlia- bution of the cards until Wednesday, October ment speaker Mamadou Koulibaly. Other Ivorian 21. The move came after two presidential candi- political VIPs, former premier Charles Konan dates pulled out of the race, denouncing it as “a Banny, MPs Konan Kouadio and Kacou masquerade”. Gnangbo, as well as businessman Simeon Ouattara’s 2010 election was the last but Konan Kouadio, have suggested they too could deadliest chapter in a conflict that had divided boycott the vote. the country into a rebel-held north and a loyalist Only four of the eight contenders still in the GEVGELIJA: People sit on the ground as they wait with other migrants and refugees to enter a registration camp after crossing south for almost a decade. race have so far signed “a code of good conduct the Greece-Macedonia border near Gevgelija yesterday. A surge of 10,000 migrants crossed from Macedonia into Serbia Then president Laurent Gbagbo refused to for a peaceful election” drafted by the electoral overnight on October 18 to 19 and headed for the Croatian border, where 3,000 had gathered by October 19 morning, said concede defeat to the former deputy head of commission, Some in the opposition want the Mirjana Ivanovic Milenkovski with the UN refugee agency in Serbia. — AFP the IMF, triggering the bloodshed. He is now in a commission dissolved on the grounds it favours Dutch jail, awaiting his November war crimes tri- Ouattara. al by the International Criminal Court in The Ouattara’s main challenger is seen as being EU, Turkey remain divided, Hague. Pascal Affi N’Guessan, a former prime minister under Gbagbo and leader of the Ivorian Popular Ouattara needs ‘strong vote’ Front. It was hoped this week’s vote would turn the Founded by the ex-president the party is despite migrant challenge page on the past and help Ivory Coast become now split between those backing N’Guessan’s the stable West African powerhouse it once was. run for president and die-hard Gbagbo loyalists, Ouattara, a tall 73-year-old economist mar- who are boycotting the vote. Some 34,000 Erdogan accuses EU of being ‘not sincere’ ried to a Frenchwoman, is hoping for a clear first- troops, including 6,000 UN peacekeepers, will be round victory. “In the next five years we will deployed during the election. To ward off fears strengthen our institutions to consolidate peace of electoral fraud, polling stations will send vote BRUSSELS: Never waste a crisis, the political adage eralized visa requirements. All of that would give seem to find a way to make the relationship work, and harmony,” he pledged on the campaign tail. counts electronically to the electoral commis- goes. The European Union and Turkey may be doing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a boost ahead of the especially with an increasingly assertive Erdogan. He heads a coalition including his own Rally sion in Abidjan and voters will be identified bio- so right now, failing to build a closer partnership while Nov. 1 elections. of Republicans (RDR) party and the Democratic metrically. — AFP facing a common challenge in the Syrian refugee cri- Key diplomatic broker sis. Harsh words Three decades ago, when Turkey first made its EU Instead of bringing the two sides together, the The outcome so far: angry words, hurt feelings and membership request, the situation was starkly differ- past few weeks have mainly highlighted why the rela- accusations of political extortion.

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