Widodo, Amin to lead Indonesia in next 5 years

By Erric Permana

JAKARTA - Joko Widodo and Ma'ruf Amin were sworn in on Sunday becoming the President and Vice President of Indonesia for the period 2019-2024.

Both officially became number one and two in Indonesia after taking an oath of office in the meeting of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Plenary Session, the Indonesia’s highest legislative body.

The swearing in and appointment of elected president and vice president were conducted by MPR Chairman Bambang Soesatyo.

In the swearing-in-ceremony, Jokowi - Joko Widodo's nickname - vowed to fulfill the obligations of the President of Indonesia and uphold the 1945 Constitution.

With the official swearing in, Jokowi returned to lead the government after successfully winning the 2019 elections.

This is the second post of president for Jokowi.

In the 2014-2019 period, Jokowi served as President of the Republic of Indonesia accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

According to the decision of the General Election Commission (KPU) which was read by the Chair of the MPR, Bambang Soesatyo, in the 2019 General Election, Jokowi - Ma'ruf Amin succeeded in winning 55 percent of the votes compared to their rivals Prabowo Subianto - Sandiaga Uno who gained around 45 percent of the votes.

Jokowi and Ma'ruf Amin were supported by nine national parties including the winner of the 2014 election, Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P) .

On various occasions, Jokowi admitted that during his reign both of them would focus on economics and human resource development.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by a number of heads of state such as Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and a number of delegates from friendly countries.

Jokowi - Ma'ruf Amin rivals in the 2019 Election Prabowo Subianto - Sandiaga Uno also attended the inauguration.