STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Indonesia’s three presidential hopefuls vowed a peaceful race, a day before campaigning for next year’s election officially began as concerns rose their rivalry may sharpen religious and ethnic divides in Southeast Asia’s largest democracy.
The election is shaping up to be a three-way race between the current defense minister Prabowo Subianto and two former governors, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo. If none of the candidates secures more than 50% of the votes in the first round, a runoff between the top two is scheduled for June 26. The three vowed to hold an amicable 75-day election campaign “without … politicizing ethnicity, religion and race, and without,” nor using bribes to sway the vote.
Although the campaign season does not begin, all three presidential candidates and their running mates have not missed the chance to hit the trail early, making appearances at rallies and discussions in the past weeks in hopes of luring voters ahead of the February election.
Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) was in Makassar, South Sulawesi to participate in a morning run. Surakarta Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, President Jokowi’s eldest son who is the running mate to Gerindra Party Chair Prabowo Subianto, also made an appearance in the city.
The third presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, meanwhile, made an appearance at a launch event for the Prosperous Justice Party’s (PKS) election campaign strategy at the party’s office in Depok, West Java.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced its collaboration with civil society partners, the General Election Commission (KPU), and Bawaslu to support voter education and digital literacy programs, as well as ongoing efforts to combat misinformation, dangerous content, and increase the transparency of political advertising, ahead of 2024 election.
