Presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) wrapped up the campaign season on Saturday with the so-called “people’s celebration” event packed with Javanese symbols as he tried to emulate the pro-people image that had propelled President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to the nation’s highest office.

Saturday is the last day of campaigning and Ganjar and his running mate Mahfud MD brought their final campaign to Surakarta and Semarang, two key cities in Central Java, in an apparent show of force to embolden supporters and erode their rivals’ confidence.

Central Java is the traditional base of the PDI-P, but Ganjar is now facing an uphill battle in the race after Jokowi, also a PDI-P member, allowed his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as vice president to Prabowo Subianto on the ticket of the PDI-P’s rival Gerindra Party.

Ganjar has found himself tied to a campaign and political vision shaped by Jokowi, but on Saturday he sought to draw a clear and sharp contrast between himself and the President.

In Surakarta, Ganjar called on people to vote for him to show “true resistance” against power-hungry leaders and the use of state resources during campaigning, without naming any of his rivals.

“We cannot mobilize state apparatus. We will use conscience and sincerity to decide the future of this nation [if elected],” Ganjar said.

Read also: Presidential candidates make final campaign push before polls

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