Do we like Joko Widodo?
Our score: 5 out of 10. A decade of building and a public apology sit against mixed LGBTQ+ and environmental records and a ruling that cleared Gibran's path.
Jokowi was mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012, then climbed to the presidency and served ten years until October 2024. He sold himself as an outsider and a doer, and plenty of Indonesians bought it. Since leaving office, analysts say his clout has been fading as his successor Prabowo Subianto sidelines Jokowi allies, though both men deny any rift.
The story that defines his exit is the age rule. In 2023 the Constitutional Court changed the minimum age for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, letting Gibran Rakabuming Raka, then 36, run as Prabowo's running mate. The chief justice, Anwar Usman, is Jokowi's brother-in-law and was later removed from that role by an ethics tribunal. Critics, including legal scholars Tim Lindsey and Simon Butt, said it hurt Indonesian democracy.
Then there's the diploma saga, which has dragged on for years. Social media claims that his Gadjah Mada University degree is fake have circulated since 2022. A lawsuit followed in 2025. Police declared the diploma authentic in May 2025, and in June 2026 they detained two critics over alleged defamation and alleged manipulation of electronic documents. A court then ordered one of them freed, ruling the arrest was unlawful. None of that settles the case itself, and Jokowi has not been quoted on it in what we read.
On the harm test it is a patchy record. After months of official anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric he said in 2016 that police must act against attacks and that “there should be no discrimination against anyone.” He added that Islam does not allow it, and Human Rights Watch said words needed action. Critics also say the 2019 revision of the anti-corruption commission law undercut its independence, and it took effect despite student protests. On the planet, his raw nickel ore export ban fed a mining boom that critics tie to forest loss.
Lately he is back in the political ring. In early 2026 speeches by him and Prabowo were read by analysts as early 2029 positioning. In June 2026 PDI-P's Hasto Kristiyanto said Indonesia became a populist authoritarian state in Jokowi's second term. PDI-P expelled him in December 2024, citing his alleged support for a rival ticket and alleged abuse of power. We found no response from his camp.
The good stuff is real, if mostly self-reported. His final state address leaned on infrastructure, including village roads, toll roads and ports. He also apologised repeatedly for mistakes, saying “It is very possible that I have committed a lot of mistakes.” We found no reporting of him mistreating staff or people around him, which counts for something in politics.