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Executive branch impartiality in question after apparent endorsements of 2024 candidates
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (right) gives a speech to 197 acting regional heads at the State Palace in Jakarta on Oct. 30, 2023. The President asked the regional administrators “not to pick sides“ in the 2024 elections. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo may have pledged neutrality ahead of the 2024 elections, but he is facing renewed allegations of partiality after he and some of his deputy ministers offered public shows of support for presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
Deputy Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Raja Juli Antoni found himself in hot water recently for not-so-subtly endorsing the candidate pair in a social media post.
On Oct. 27, Raja posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a photo taken at a hotel in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), with a caption about his activities during his official working trip there.He began his post with “selamat pagi” (good morning), followed by a definition of pagi as short for “Prabowo and Gibran”.
Selamat PAGI —Selamat Prabowo Gibran.
Mendarat di Kupang. Hari ini di Kupang saya akan membagikan sertipikat PTSL dan Wakaf kepada masyarakat. Semoga PAGI kawan-kawan semua penuh berkah@psi_id @Gerindra @prabowo @gibran_tweet pic.twitter.com/pW9JXwN885
— Raja Juli Antoni, MA., Ph.D. (@RajaJuliAntoni) October 26, 2023
The post went viral, with a number of netizens questioning the propriety of an appointed executive branch official appearing to endorse a presidential candidate.
