Power struggle between Indonesia's court and parliament sparks protests

Indonesia's parliament has delayed passing revisions to an elections law that had threatened to spark protests.

The parliament had planned to ratify on Thursday morning changes that would have reversed a ruling by the constitutional court earlier this week.

The amendments by parliament aim to strengthen the clout of Indonesia's outgoing president Joko Widodo.

The legislative changes would have blocked a vocal government critic in the race for the Jakarta governor's influential post and paved the way for Widodo's youngest son to run in elections in Java this November.

Deputy House speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said the plenary session had been delayed because not enough legislators showed up to vote.

On Tuesday, the Constitutional Court revoked a minimum threshold requirement to nominate candidates in regional elections and kept the minimum age limit of 30 years for candidates

That ruling effectively blocks the candidacy of the president's 29-year-old son Kaseang Pangarep from contesting the race for deputy governor in Central Java. It would allow Anies Baswedan, the current favourite, to run in Jakarta

But within 24 hours the parliament had tabled an emergency revision to annul the changes, which it is expected to ratify on Thursday, said legislator Luluk Hamidah.

It is unclear how long the vote on the motion will be delayed, or if it will occur later on Thursday.

But the power struggle between the parliament and the judiciary comes amid a week of dramatic political developments in the world's third-largest democracy and the final stretch of the president's second term.

Widodo downplayed the concerns, saying on Wednesday the court ruling and parliamentary deliberations were part of the standard "checks and balances" of government.

'Constitutional insubordination'

Elections analyst Titi Anggraini characterised the manoeuvre as "constitutional insubordination" that had the potential to stir unrest.

The political manoeuvres have sparked a wave of criticism online, with blue posters featuring the words "Emergency Warning" above Indonesia's symbolic national eagle shared widely on social media.

Demonstrators dressed in black had gathered outside the parliament building in Jakarta on Thursday, with smaller protests outside the court, and also in the cities of Surabaya and Yogyakarta. Authorities have said 3,000 police have been deployed in the capital.