REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Former president and Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) said there are five important things to do before facing regional election (pilkada) in 2018 and presidential election (pilpres) in 2019.
He said there must be preparation to ensure the elections run safe, orderly, and smoothly. However, SBY believed President Joko Widodo and all state officials had prepared and managed it as well as possible, including the implementation of the elections with integrity, honest, and fair.
"First, let us uphold moral and political ethics in the implementation of regional and presidential election. Morally, all the parties must make the upcoming elections can run smoothly, free from cheats and violations," said SBY on Friday (Jan. 5).
He asserted that al the forms of violences, whether physical or otherwise, must also be minimized on the event for democration. SBY said those behaviours are not good to use in order to win political contestation.
Furthermore, SBY also reminded the organizer of elections must uphold the integrity and quality of work from the beginning to the end of political contestation. In this digital era, all the organizer of elections should also raise their awareness and control functions.
"All the organizer of the elections, such as General elections Commisions (KPU) must be able to prevent and overcome if there are disturbances. They must plan everything very well," SBY added.
SBY also reminded the neutrality of the state institutions, including National Police (Polri), Indonesian Military (TNI) and general attorney. He said it is absolutely necessary and all state elements can not try to win one of the candidates or certain political parties.
"The use of state finances should also be monitored, not to the state money used for the benefit of political winning," SBY affirmed.
More over, SBY said the important role of an independent and fair press. The attitude of media independence needs to be realized for a fair and democratic elections. Mass media, he said, should not meet the interests of capital owners.
"In the end, people are sovereign and state must guarantee that. Our people are now become mature, orderly and participative so that why we must respect their rights," SBY said.
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