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Presidential contenders join Christmas festivities
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Congregation members take selfies with a Christmas tree before Christmas mass at the St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, popularly known as the Jakarta Cathedral, in Jakarta on Dec. 25, 2023. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
The nation’s presidential candidates and their running mates spent time over the Christmas holiday visiting churches to promote religious tolerance and in an effort to make themselves more appealing to Christian voters.
Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) visited a Catholic church in Surakarta, Central Java, on Sunday to observe the preparations for the church’s Christmas mass.
Speaking to reporters, Ganjar said that, while he had annually visited churches to help with their respective Christmas preparations every year throughout his 10-year tenure as Central Java governor, Sunday’s visit was his first as a presidential candidate.
He went on to say that religious leaders are crucial in helping to promote religious tolerance, particularly in the lead up to voting day to ensure a peaceful general election next year.
“Having met with the priests earlier, they said that they will help to uphold the conducive situation. The other day, I also met with [Muslim] clerics, they also said the same thing. So, if religious leaders can maintain [the situation], I’m sure their followers will do the same,” Ganjar said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Meanwhile, Ganjar’s running mate Mahfud MD, in his capacity as the country’s coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister, visited the Jakarta Cathedral during Christmas Eve mass on Sunday.
In his opening remarks, Mahfud said that the government was committed to maintaining interfaith harmony among Indonesians and to support places of worship in celebrating their respective religious holidays.
