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Yudhoyono walks out of campaign declaration
The former president complains of "unauthorized party attributes" displayed in the event.
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Presidential candidate pairs, from left to right, Ma'ruf Amin, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno chat during the kick off of the presidential and legislative elections campaign at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta on Sunday. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
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emocratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono staged a walk-out during a campaign declaration at the National Monument (Monas) on Sunday due to unauthorized party regalia worn by people who attended the gathering.
“We have agreed from the start that all the participants would wear traditional attire without party logos, but Yudhoyono saw so many people wearing them and this made it seem like a campaign rally,” the Democrats’ secretary-general, Hinca Panjaitan, said on Sunday.
Hinca then took over but he was unable to get on the stage to sign the declaration.
He said he had laid a complaint with the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) about the unauthorized logos.
KPU chairman Arief Budiman said all the participants at the gathering agreed to wear traditional attire during the declaration.
However, he added, the KPU had no authorization to regulate people who waved party flags on the side of the road.
“Besides, we have now entered the campaign period,” Arief said. “So, they can now campaign however they want to as long as they follow the rules and regulations.” (ris)
