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Political maneuvers continue as Jakarta burns
Jokowi camp criticized Prabowo’s “ambiguous and hands-off” approach to the rioting by some of its supporters.
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Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto calls on his supporters to go home on Wednesday night through a video posted on his Twitter handle @prabowo. (Twitter/twitter.com/prabowo)
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s rioting and violence gripped Jakarta following the official 2019 general election results announcement, political maneuvering continued behind the scenes as parties consider postelection repositioning amid mounting tension.
Incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who the General Elections Commission (KPU) said won reelection, intensified communication with top figures who backed the candidacy of losing candidate Prabowo Subianto.
Jokowi invited Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of former president and Democratic Party patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), and People’s Consultative Assembly speaker and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan to separate meetings at the Bogor Palace on Wednesday.
In a statement to the press after the closed door meeting, Agus said he had taken on the role of bridging communication between Jokowi and Yudhoyono, who had wanted to share his wisdom and experience with the incumbent on how to handle the postelection situation. “There should be [...] room for dialogue and proper solutions.”
Zulkifli echoed Agus’ statement, calling for all parties to settle any dispute through peaceful means and discussion, while the rejection of the election results must be filed with the Constitutional Court. “Democracy needs patience, even extra patience,” Zulkifli said
Speculation has been rife that the Democrats and PAN are considering to join the ruling coalition, especially after executives of both parties hinted that the two might leave Prabowo’s camp after the election was over.
The Democrats and PAN are also the only parties in the opposition camp that have acknowledged Jokowi’s victory as announced by the KPU.
