The General Elections Commission (KPU) has rebuked vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka for inducing his supporters to more raucously cheer on his running mate Prabowo Subianto at the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign.

KPU chairman Hasyim Asy’ari said Gibran’s gestures of encouragement for his supporters to cheer on Prabowo during the debate on Tuesday were not allowed under the commission’s regulations.

“[The crowd rallying] is not allowed, and we admonish [Gibran],” said Hasyim after holding an evaluation meeting on Thursday.

Gibran was not given any punitive sanctions, however, and the reprimand would only be delivered to the campaign team.

The first debate of the 2024 campaign season was held for presidential candidates only and put forward questions on law, corruption, governance, democracy, human rights and tolerance.

In one exchange, presidential candidate Anies Baswedan asked Prabowo about how he felt when he picked Gibran, the eldest son of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, knowing that the Constitutional Court verdict that had enabled the 36-year-old to run had been tainted by a supervisory council ruling that at least one member of the court had committed a gross ethics violation in relation to the case.  

Prabowo acknowledged the violation but claimed that it was a move that he could not refuse because of “the intervention” in the process.

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