The debate came at a critical time in the race, with Ganjar and Anies neck-and-neck for second place and the spot to compete with frontrunner Prabowo in the possible runoff, which analysts have predicted to be a probability since no ticket is likely to secure a majority in the first round.

Tuesday’s debate, the first of five election debates before February’s election, began to heat up just after Anies took a question from a panelist on the decline in public trust in political parties. He responded by saying that the problem went beyond political parties, arguing that it was Indonesian democracy itself that had proven to be untrustworthy, citing limited freedom of expression, restrictions imposed on opposition figures and the opaque election process.

But there must also be reform of political parties, he added, calling for transparent funding of political parties.

Prabowo then turned on a more personal note and threw a jab at the former Jakarta governor, who ran for that post with the backing of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, saying that a faulty democracy would not have allowed an opposition figurehead such as Anies to gain a platform.

“You complain about the state of democracy,” Prabowo said, “but you were once Jakarta’s leader. That wouldn’t have been possible if Jokowi was a dictator.”

Prabowo is making his third run following two failed presidential bids against his former bitter rival Jokowi after he made a game-changing decision naming Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabumin Raka as his vice presidential running mate. The former Army general has been dominating the race, with a 20-point lead in various surveys released days before Tuesday’s debate.