Indonesian President Joko Widodo has said on Monday he is considering reshuffling of his cabinet before he sworn-in as the president in October, for the second five-year term.
During an interview with the Tempo newspaper which was published on Monday, Widodo made these comments considering to reshuffle cabinet before October’s sworn-in ceremony.
Widodo has informally won the presidential election by 10 percentage points, as per to the quick counts of a sample of votes by polls, though the official results are due until May 22, as well as, the president’s challenger Prabowo Subianto also claimed victory in sample vote counts.
During the interview, the president hinted he would not insist over choosing technocrats over any politicians, stating “in parties, there are many professional members”, according to Reuters news reports.
Shortly ahead of the April 17 election, speculation related to a reshuffling of the cabinet has been rife among government officials and politicians, with few ministers possible being replaced, who were in charge of the economic portfolios.
According to financial analysts, it was closely watching Widodo’s choices for a cabinet reshuffle, including whether finance minister Sri Mulyan Indrawati will continue to possess the power or not.
Insider governmental officers told Reuters Widodo will keep the economic reforms which began during his first presidential term, aiming at handling sagging foreign investment, restrictive labour rules and the disturbed education system. During his first term period, Widodo has reshuffled the cabinet various times.
Also read: Indonesia: ‘Quick counts’ indicates polls’ victory to President Joko Widodo for 2nd term