Rumors have emerged that the President is intensifying his work visits, which coincide with the campaign season, to promote presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto who is running with his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko has denied that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's frequent visits to various regions in the past few months were linked to the upcoming presidential election.
Rumors have emerged that the President is intensifying his work visits to promote presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto who is running with his eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
"So are [the work visits] related to the election? There is no such talk. It has never been said by the President, nothing at all," said Moeldoko at a press conference on Monday, as quoted by Antara News.
Some critics have even linked the President’s recent visits to Central Java, which are often close after visits made by Ganjar Pranowo, one of Prabowo’s rivals in the race, as a way to win support from voters in the province.
Ganjar, the former Central Java governor, considers the province as his home turf and the stronghold of his party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Read also: Candidates tussle over East Java, NU voters
Moeldoko said Jokowi’s entire travel agenda across regions and abroad had been planned in advance. Jokowi's frequent work visits to different regions in the past few weeks were related to his responsibilities as President, which were based on a constitutional mandate that must be fulfilled.
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