The journey to the simultaneous election on April 17, 2019 continues. One stage of the election that we started this week was the public meeting or open campaign.
In accordance with the schedule of the General Elections Commission (KPU), the public campaign will take place from Sunday, March 24 to April 13. The commission has arranged campaign zones for presidential candidates Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno.
At this stage the election campaign has begun to involve the masses. At this stage the contestants have also been given the opportunity to campaign in the mass media. The hope is that the campaign rules as stipulated in the law will be obeyed.
The campaign period is an important stage for the pairs of presidential candidates and also the legislative candidates to convince 192 million voters why they deserve to be elected. Because the public campaign involves the masses, we also hope that each candidate pair and campaign participant can still take care of themselves. The crowds, especially if provoked by provocative campaigners or social media, can quickly become emotional. An emotional mass can sometimes lose its rationality. It must also be recognized by all parties.
We believe that the pairs Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin and Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno are the best leaders of the nation in Indonesia. Political competition may be sharp, but we believe in the candidate pairs and the campaign teams there is a code of honor.
The April 17, 2019 election also serves as a test of democracy. The history of Indonesian elections has been peaceful. Political tension was quite high during the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election.
The April 17 election will indeed be a test on too what extent the public is able to deal with various hoaxes scattered on social media, how the emotions of voters can be maintained, how the political maturity of the elite can still be put forward. The 2019 election will be testimony that this nation can fight false news.
We believe that if the political situation of April 17 is maintained, Indonesia will pass the democracy test. The Indonesian nation will rise to become a country with a mature democracy. To arrive at that stage, we hope the KPU and Bawaslu can maintain their professionalism to be the organizers and supervisors of the election correctly.
The participation of civil society who want to guard the 2019 election must also be appreciated as a form of internal supervision from civil society. It is hoped that the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) can maintain a safe and peaceful situation and maintain the atmosphere of the campaign. However, what is important is that the government cannot be disrupted, government offices must still be able to serve the community.
