REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia has the good fortune of having two presidential candidates for the upcoming election on July 9, stated Sri Lankan Ambassador to Indonesia Anoja Wijeyesekera.
"Indonesia is very lucky to have these two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates," Ambassador Wijeyesekera informed Antara here on Tuesday.
Wijeyesekera remarked that she is fascinated by the competition between the presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs of the Republic of Indonesia, which are Prabowo Subianto-Hata Rajasa and Joko Widodo (Jokowi)-Jusuf Kalla (JK).
"It is very exciting to see the competition between these two candidates that are equally strong," she pointed out.
According to Wijeyesekera, the fierce competition between the two pairs of candidates for president and vice president actually makes democracy come alive in Indonesia.
Ambassador Wijeyesekera noted that she has met both the presidential candidates, and she admires their views as expressed in their campaigns.
In line with the presidential election, Wijeyesekera pointed out that the winner in this competition will be democracy because whoever is elected the president will be the people's choice.
Indonesia will conduct a democratic presidential election on July 9, 2014, which will be contested by two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates: Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Jokowi-JK.
Prabowo Subianto is a retired military general and the chairman of the 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), while his running mate, JK, is a former vice president and a senior politician of the Golkar Party.
The Prabowo-Hatta pair is supported by Gerindra, PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the Crescent and Star Party (PBB), and the Golkar Party, whose current chairman is Aburizal Bakrie, the owner of TV One.
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 Democrat Party (Nasdem) established by Surya Paloh, the owner of Metro TV and the Media Indonesia newspaper.
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