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Less resistance expected as trial on Ahok-Djarot campaign opposition begins
The campaign team of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat said the legal process of a resident’s resistance against the pair’s campaign activities will continue, although they have forgiven the perpetrator.
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Upbeat – Local residents welcome Jakarta Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat (center, in plaid shirt) during a visit in Tegal Alur, Kalideres, Jakarta, on Dec. 7.
(Antara/Lucky R.)
T
he campaign team of Jakarta gubernatorial candidate pair Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat said the legal process of a resident’s resistance against the pair’s campaign activities will continue, although they have forgiven the perpetrator.
The legal process is expected to create a deterrent effect that discourages campaign opposition in the future, it further said.
“We do hope there won’t be public resistance anymore during their campaign visits in the future,” Yodben Silitonga, a lawyer from the Ahok-Djarot campaign team’s legal division, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
He referred to campaign resistance faced by Djarot, who currently serves as Jakarta deputy governor, during his visit to a campaign event on Jl. Kembangan Utara, West Jakarta, in the middle of November. The case is now being settled at the West Jakarta District Court and is expected to be resolved within seven days in accordance with the 2016 Regional Elections Law.
During a hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors read out indictments against a Kembangan resident identified only as Naman S., 52, suspected to have incited public resistance against Djarot during his visit. He was charged of violating Article 184 (4) of the 2016 Regional Elections Law, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
Naman rejected the indictments. He is scheduled to attend a hearing at the West Jakarta District Court on Thursday.
Yodben said his entire legal team looked forward to hear Naman’s testimony in the trial because they had found similar patterns in the campaign resistance faced by Ahok and Djarot.
“We assume that this opposition was organized. We hope that this can be revealed in the hearing,” the lawyer said, adding Djarot was also scheduled to attend a hearing as a witness in the same case at the West Jakarta District Court, scheduled for 9 a.m. on Friday. (ebf)
