REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The House of Representatives (DPR) has sought the media's help to anticipate unwanted possibilities and to supervise the upcoming presidential election on July 9, 2014.
The request was made by Deputy House Speaker Pramono Anung after receiving Press Council Chief Bagir Manan along with several media editors and academicians at the House's building here on Wednesday.
Pramono highlighted the possibility of a conflict among supporters of different presidential candidates when they come face-to-face. Conflict can be easily fueled if there was fraud during the elections.
Therefore, he emphasized that all sides need to make efforts to prevent, deter, and minimize possible fraud and violations.
"We hope that all electronic and print media will help to build democracy through the general elections without violence.
Differences of choices should not lead to the outbreak of violence among the people," Pramono added.
Anung expressed hope that the democratic process for electing the president and vice president for the 2014-2019 term of office will run peacefully, fairly and successfully.
"The public has been eagerly waiting for the elections where there are only two presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs. This is a stiff competition. The press is expected to help calm down the rising political temperature," Pramono remarked.
He said that the press must be able to assuage the rising temperature without affecting the essence of competition.
Indonesia will organize a free and democratic presidential election on July 9, 2014, which will be contested by only two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates: Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo (Jokowi)-Jusuf Kalla.
Prabowo Subianto is a retired military general and the chairman of Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), while his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, is a former coordinating minister for economic affairs and the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Jokowi is Jakarta's Governor and a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla (JK), is a former vice president and a senior politician of the Golkar Party.
The Jokowi-JK pair is supported by five political parties: PDIP, the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), the Justice and Indonesian Unity Party (PKPI), and the National Democrats Party (Nasdem) established by Surya Paloh, the owner of Metro TV and the Media Indonesia newspaper.
The Prabowo-Hatta pair is supported by Gerindra, PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the Moon and Star Party (PBB), and the Golkar Party, whose current chairman is Aburizal Bakrie, the owner of TV One.
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