Contestation and Brotherhood

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Presidential candidate ballot No. 01 Joko Widodo (second left) and presidential candidate ballot No. 02 Prabowo Subianto (second right) share a light moment during the fourth round of the presidential debates on Saturday (3/30/2019) in Jakarta. The presidential debates are organized by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

A message of brotherhood was disclosed by incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and it was positively welcomed by his rival Prabowo Subianto in the fourth debate on Saturday.

In the midst of political contestation, which tends to cause noise on social media, the message of brotherhood delivered by the two candidates has strategic value. "My friendship with Pak Prabowo will never break," Jokowi said when giving his closing statement during the debate on Saturday. Prabowo then also responded, "We will not break our brotherhood. Let the people determine who is the best."

In the fourth presidential candidate debate, which covered ideology, governance, defense and international relations, both candidates agreed that Pancasila should be strengthened. The similar positions on Pancasila was a relief. Pancasila is the best compromise of the nation\'s founding fathers. Pancasila is the state ideology.

The message of brotherhood delivered by the two presidential candidates has very important and strategic value. Contestation in any general election is normal. A total of 192 million voters will elect the nation’s leader for the 2019-2024 period. Let the people choose freely, according to their conscience, and be freed also from fear and anxiousness.

We encourage presidential candidates Jokowi and Prabowo to control the narrative that was built by their campaign teams or volunteers so as to not provoke the public with various false news or slanderous news or to build a pessimistic narrative about the election on April 17.

It is the duty of the General Elections Commission (KPU) to ensure that the election runs transparently, in accordance with the rules. It is also the duty of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) to ensure that all forms of violations are dealt with strictly in accordance with the existing rules. However, what is equally important is how the election organizers guarantee the right of the citizens to vote.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police must maintain their neutrality. Both the TNI and police have to be able to carry out their roles optimally to ensure the elections run without interruption. Democracy must be maintained. Democracy must be believed as the only rule of the game to gain power. There should not be the slightest thought to take antidemocratic steps that can have an impact on the retreat of our democracy. All problems that arise in each stage of the election must be resolved in accordance with the Consitution.