Current Government Deemed Democratic

Jakarta, VIVA – The administration of President Prabowo Subianto is deemed democratic. Ayip Tayana, Executive Director of the National Data Index, mentioned several indicators of the democratic quality in Prabowo’s current government. Among them, the government still acknowledges public criticism, a commitment to law enforcement without favouritism, and no systemic restrictions on opposition or civil society organisations. “So my conclusion is that the Prabowo Subianto administration is still democratic, with a tendency to demonstrate state firmness,” he said to reporters on Saturday, 28 March 2026. He stated that President Prabowo’s government is far from being authoritarian. This is because the government itself is open to criticism voiced by the public. This is seen as different from truly authoritarian regimes, which usually close off space for criticism from the outset. “If we look at it empirically so far, I have not seen sufficient strong evidence to call the Prabowo Subianto government an authoritarian one,” he said. Ayip also highlighted the commitment to resolving the acid attack case against the Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andri Yunus. He views this as a positive signal for transparent and accountable law enforcement.