SBY pleads for peace, unity

JAKARTA. In spite of the apparent rivalry between the two presidential tickets, Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-Jusuf Kalla shared a table to break the fast alongside President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the State Palace on Sunday.

In his speech at the event, Yudhoyono emphasized that such a friendly gathering could ease political tensions between the polarizing support for the two presidential tickets.

Yudhoyono also pointed out a hadith (record of words and deeds of Prophet Muhammad) that reminds people to not have prejudices that could lead to the fall of a nation.

“It is important to value our unity, brotherhood and togetherness. When a nation is divided, to reunite is not easy,” he added.

Yudhoyono also said that peaceful and democratic elections were a must, adding that “this afternoon, in this room, we strengthen our commitment [to] ensure and realize [processes in] our democracy”.

Two days prior to the announcement of the official presidential election result by the General Elections Commission (KPU), tensions continued to run high as the Prabowo camp called for the postponement of national tabulation and the election result announcement, citing various rigging allegations.

The official vote recapitulation, which has been running for almost two weeks now conducted by various institutions, has thus far announced the lead of Jokowi and his running mate, with at least a 4 percent margin.

Prabowo’s team has begged to differ from the publicly announced count but has not come up with its own data to be scrutinized.

Yudhoyono has previously asked the two tickets personally to maintain peace and order as well as prevent horizontal conflicts connected to differences in quick-count results. Jokowi responded lightly after the Sunday meeting, denying any heavy talks during the dinner.

“[People] at the table were talking about food and soccer,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi, however, told reporters that his camp would wait for the KPU’s final say.

Prabowo told reporters after the event that he was still “seeking revotes” at thousands of polling stations in Jakarta and East Java, after his campaign team made a similar call on Saturday to postpone the announcement of the official vote tally result given that many allegations of election violations had not been addressed in those areas.

The stark contrast between the moods of the two candidates was also reflected in their supporters.

An advisor to Prabowo’s campaign team, Yunus Yosfiah, said that thousands of Prabowo supporters were expected to descend on KPU headquarters on July 22, although the presence of the supporters was not meant to cause unrest but instead to secure KPU headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Jokowi campaign team has called on its supporters to stay home on July 22 so as not to be provoked by certain groups bent on creating unrest.

Earlier on Sunday, in a televised event in Jakarta, two volunteer groups claiming to represent each camp, declared they would maintain peace during the KPU announcement. The event was also attended by National Police chief Gen. Sutarman and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Moeldoko.

Ananda Mustajab Latif, claiming to represent Jokowi’s volunteers, urged all Jokowi volunteers to not take to the streets on July 22 and to accept the KPU’s final say.

He also urged Prabowo volunteers to be “legowo”, or accept something unpleasant in a sincere manner, should Prabowo lose to Jokowi, and vice versa. “If Prabowo-Hatta are elected, it means they are indeed the next president and vice president,” he said.

 Brambini, who represented Prabowo’s volunteers, said he hoped the new leaders, whoever they were, would focus on fighting for the best interests of the nation.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a Jokowi camp volunteer coordinator, however, disapproved of Ananda, saying that he had not communicated with them.

Eva said Ananda, who once was a member of the Pemuda Pancasila youth organization — which backs the Prabowo ticket, became a volunteer after he announced his support for Jokowi, and later joined Seknas Jokowi, a volunteer support organization for Jokowi.

“We appreciate today’s peace declaration although we perceive it merely as a ceremonial activity because nevertheless Jokowi has been seeking reconciliation.”

A breezier call for peace came from Prabowo supporters in Bali.

Both campaign teams in the region have declared that they have urged their supporters to avoid conflicts after the official result is announced.

“I have confirmed to Prabowo-Hatta supporters to keep things calm and stable in Bali. Whatever the official result, we have to accept it. Whoever the winner is, we have to accept it,” the campaign team coordinator of the Prabowo-Hatta ticket, Ketut Sudikerta, said Sunday. (Ina Parlina and Margareth S. Aritonang)