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Election body grills Anies for showing two-finger salute during Gerindra conference
Anies is accused of campaigning for Prabowo Subianto – Sandiaga Uno in the upcoming presidential election.
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (center) talks to reporters at the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) in Jakarta on Jan. 7. (Warta Kota/Anggie Lianda Putri)
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akarta Governor Anies Baswedan was questioned by the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) on Monday for showing a two-finger salute during a Gerindra Party national conference in Sentul, West Java, last month.
He is accused of campaigning for Prabowo Subianto – Sandiaga Uno in the upcoming presidential election, as the salute is widely associated with the pair, who will challenge President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate Ma’ruf Amin.
Regional leaders are prohibited from supporting certain presidential candidates, unless they are on a leave.
Anies was asked 27 questions during the questioning, which took 75 minutes.
“Everyone can have an interpretation of the symbol, [but] normally when people want to say [number] two, they will raise their middle and index finger. And that’s what the pair [Prabowo-Sandiaga] usually uses,” Anies said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
However, Anies raised his thumb and index finger, a gesture that is also widely used by supporters of Persija Jakarta soccer club, Gerindra Jakarta chapter deputy chairman Syarif said.
Anies was reported by the National Guard for the People to Bawaslu for allegedly breaching election law. (fac)
