T

he conducive situation in the run-up to and following the announcement of the General Elections Commission'€™s (KPU) official vote count has indicated that the public is ready to move on and leave a divisive election behind.

Political analyst Leo Agustino of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa University said that the calm following the KPU announcement, which named the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle'€™s (PDI-P) presidential ticket of Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as the winner of the July 9 presidential election, also indicated that voters in the country have reached political maturity.

'€œThis is a symbol of the country'€™s unity and we need to be proud of that,'€ Leo said on Tuesday.

Speculation was rife that clashes would occur between supporters of Jokowi-Kalla and the rival Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa ticket soon after the KPU'€™s announcement on Tuesday.

Prabowo'€™s camp earlier said that its supporters would descend on the KPU headquarters to '€œsafeguard'€ the vote count.

Jokowi'€™s camp called for its supporters to exercise restraint in the run-up to the result and to refrain from staging outdoor celebrations upon the KPU'€™s announcement.

In anticipation of security disturbances on Tuesday, many business establishments in the capital decided to give their employees a day off or send them home early.

Following Prabowo'€™s speech rejecting the election result, Jakarta'€™s main thoroughfares were deserted, although around two dozen protesters made an appearance at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

Many have also reacted furiously to Prabowo'€™s refusal to concede defeat.

Comedian Dorce Gamalama said that the KPU should not hold a revote in spite of the refusal from Prabowo to accept the KPU'€™s vote-count result.

'€œPlease, have pity on us. No more elections this year, no more of our tax money spent on balloting,'€ Dorce said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Even supporters of Prabowo called on their candidate to concede defeat.

West Java Deputy Governor Deddy Mizwar, who is also a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician, called on supporters of both presidential tickets to accept whatever decision was made by the KPU.

'€œWhoever is named the winner, the president-elect will be the president of us all,'€ Deddy said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Deddy, who was recently criticized for his ongoing work on a local TV soap opera (sinetron), said that any decision made by the KPU would be valid, given its position as the country'€™s only legitimate election body.

'€œLet us consider the election as our devotion to God,'€ Deddy said.

Prominent lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that voters had been mature in their behavior during this year'€™s election season.

'€œIt is the elite who failed to behave [...] I hope that people will remain calm and will not get carried away,'€ Todung said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, however, acting Jakarta governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama said that he would not congratulate Jokowi on his victory.

'€œI can'€™t congratulate him until the result is settled. I expect that the Gerindra Party will challenge the result at the Constitutional Court. So at least until it is legally settled, I won'€™t say anything,'€ he said.

Ahok did say, however, that he was ready to assume the capital'€™s top job if the KPU named Jokowi the winner in the election.

'€œI am even ready to become a president, so of course I am ready to be the next governor. I'€™ve been doing the governor'€™s job anyway,'€ he said.