Presidential Hopefuls Promise Peaceful Campaign

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

The two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2019 general election, Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, share a light moment after the drawing of the election serial number at the General Elections Commission (KPU) offices on Jl. Imam Bonjol in Central Jakarta on Friday (21/9/2018) evening. At the public event, the duo of Joko Widodo and Ma’ruf got serial number 01 and Prabowo-Sandiaga got number 02.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The two candidate pairs entering the fray for the 2019 presidential election, namely the Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin duo and the team of Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno, are united in their commitment to a peaceful campaign ahead of the election. All candidates see the election as a moment for the country’s democracy to mature and for seeking the best solutions in the interest of all Indonesians.

That commitment, affirmed during the drawing of election serial numbers at the General Elections Commission (KPU) headquarters in Jakarta on Friday (21/9/2018) evening, drew big applause from all attendees.

In the public event, the Jokowi-Ma’ruf pair got serial number 01 and Prabowo-Sandiaga got number 02. It was agreed upon collectively to include the digit zero in the serial numbers to distinguish them from the numbers of political parties participating in the legislative election in the same year.

After the serial number draw, each of the pairs was given time for a speech. Jokowi and Ma’ruf went first.

Jokowi urged all elements of the nation to make the presidential election a chance to educate the people on politics and to mature the country’s democracy. On that basis, he asked that the contest be focused on programs, ideas and track records.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman (center), accompanied by KPU commissioner Viryan (left) and KPU commissioner Evi Novida Ginting Manik (right), poses for a photograph with the two candidate pairs participating in the 2019 presidential election, Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, after the drawing of the serial numbers at the KPU offices in Central Jakarta on Friday (21/9/2018) evening. At the public event, the duo of Joko Widodo and Ma’ruf got serial number 01 and Prabowo-Sandiaga got number 02.

“I urge everyone to distance themselves from slandering, insulting and speaking ill of one another. These are not in line with Indonesian values. Political contestation should not lead to disunity among us,” he said.

In his speech, Prabowo made a similar call. He asked all Indonesians to maintain peace, calm and a familial atmosphere, as well as to strive to seek the best option for the nation, during the 2019 election.

Prabowo said elections should not be used to attack one another for faults and shortcomings.

“All of us belong to the great family of Indonesia. We need to see the problems of our nation as the problems of our family. I hope that everyone will restrain themselves and stay calm and composed. Let us all go through this democratic process properly and calmly,” Prabowo said.

These commitments will be the focus of campaign strategies of each pair’s campaign team.

Prabowo-Sandiaga national campaign team chief Djoko Santoso said he would direct all team members to ensure a safe election and to protect democracy. “We will begin to spread this spirit to all members of the campaign team [this Saturday]. Elections should be used to garner votes and people’s support and not to tear down each other,” he said.

He continued that he would take action against members on his campaign team who violated that spirit. “There will be verbal warnings. On three strikes, there will be punishment,” Djoko said.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Supporters of Joko Widodo and Ma\'ruf Amin, who have been given serial number 01 for next year’s presidential election, hold a support action in front of the General Elections Commission (KPU) building in Jakarta on Friday (21/9/2018).

Jokowi-Ma’ruf national campaign team deputy chief Abdul Kadir Karding said all campaign team members would always act properly and politely, including in spreading social media content that contributed to fostering a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Peaceful campaign

The campaign period for next year’s presidential election begins this Sunday (23/9). It will last for around seven months and end on April 13, 2019, before the election is held on April 17. As the presidential election next year will be held simultaneously with the legislative election, the presidential campaigns will also be held simultaneously with legislative campaigns for the House of Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) and Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD).

Ahead of next year’s election, the legislative campaign period will be shorter than in 2014. At the time, the legislative campaign period lasted from Jan. 11, 2013, to April 5, 2014. However, the presidential campaign period this time will be longer than in 2014, when it was only one month, from June 4 to July 5, 2014.

To mark the start of the campaign period, the KPU will hold a peace declaration and a cultural carnival at the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta on Sunday morning. At the carnival, presidential and VP candidates as well as political party chairs will wear traditional clothes and join a walk on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Supporters of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and vice-presidential candidate Sandiaga Uno express their support in front of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta on Friday (21/9/2018).

KPU chair Arief Budiman said peace could only be maintained during the campaign period if all election participants understood that the essence of campaigns was not to ensure their opponents’ downfall but to garner voters’ support.

“Entering this prolonged campaign period, I hope that everyone can stay true to their commitment to maintain calmness and stability,” he said.

Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) chair Abhan said urged all election participants to build an effective and cheap campaign model to reduce the costs of politics. One of the most effective ways to do so was a dialog-based campaign, where candidates meet and talk with voters. He also warned election participants to avoid illegal activities, including vote buying and slanderous campaigns.

Prabowo-Sandiaga team spokesperson Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak said arguments and debates between candidates might occur when talking to voters. However, that should not lead to conflicts.

Consistency

Padjadjaran University’s Center for Political and Security Studies chair Muradi said the public had high hopes that the political elites would live up to their pledges for peaceful election campaigns. Experience from past elections showed that politicians often violated their own peace pledges.

If the political elites lived up their pledges for keeping their campaigns peaceful, it is believed that supporters would also remain peaceful during the campaign period as well as honest and fair on the day of the election.

With regard to this, Muradi said, preventive measures were necessary to ensure elites’ consistency in maintaining a peaceful election. Bawaslu, for instance, should more intensively monitor the activities of election participants and act swiftly in warning or punishing any violators.

Bawaslu at all levels should also coordinate more intensively with law enforcement authorities and regional governments.

“Bawaslu has data on the election’s vulnerability to certain issues. Based on this data, preventive measures can be taken in coordination with law enforcement authorities and regional governments,” Muradi said.

Social groups, including religious mass organizations, also had a huge role in maintaining peace during elections. It is hoped that such organizations can warn the public and political elites about campaign violations. Another important thing to maintain is the neutrality among election organizers, law enforcers and government officials.

(GAL/BOW/E05/APA/AGE)