After a day of confusing developments, a presidential edict was confirmed, calling for voting in the referendum this Saturday and the following Saturday.
The second, in 1964--65, was a bundle of laws and edicts, including the passage of the civil-rights and Medicaid acts and court rulings to desegregate hospitals.
Although these have no legal force under Indonesia's secular constitution, vigilantes have sometimes used the edicts to target revellers as well as religious and sexual minorities.
A cautious politician, whose preference for handing down edicts after slow deliberation reflects his background as a judge, Mr Abbott has shown more calculation than leadership during the crisis.