This year’s general election falls on Valentine’s Day. As it happens, today is also Ash Wednesday for Catholics, which marks the beginning of Lent.

While this might very well be purely a coincidence, going to the polling stations with our heads and hearts, while taking a moment to reflect before piercing the ballot paper is definitely not a bad idea.

With all the allegations of tampering, vote buying and pork barrel practices, the like of which of the people behind the documentary movie Dirty Vote have shown, we appeal to voters to make their decisions based on what they think is best. Elections, as the respected scholar Franz Magnis Suseno put it, are designed to prevent the worst from gaining power, which is why every vote counts this time around.

A credible process matters if we are to elect a credible government, therefore we call on all parties, including the President, to make sure the elections run in a free and fair manner.

It is probably an understatement to say that this presidential election has been very lively. Emotions have run high on social media platforms and on television screens.

A looming question, and also a reason for concern in several quarters, is whether the race involving Anies Baswaden and running mate Muhaimin Iskandar; Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka; and Ganjar Pranowo and Mahfud MD will go to a runoff.

A second round, if today’s result demands it, will be held in June.

The enthusiasm to vote was felt overseas when 1.75 million Indonesians living in 128 foreign countries cast their ballots between Feb. 5 and Feb. 11. Voters in Kuala Lumpur had to line up for hours at the polling station at the World Trade Center in that city on Sunday.

About 204.8 million of the Indonesian population of over 270 million are eligible to vote and about a third of those are under the age of 30, according to the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Opinion surveys have found that while many voters have a clear decision as to whom they wish to vote for, a substantial number are still on the fence.

On Friday, Indikator Politik Indonesia said that based on its survey conducted between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, some 4.5 percent were still undecided on who to vote for and 10.5 percent said they could still change their minds come election day. 

Similar findings were announced on Saturday by Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI), which conducted its survey between Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. LSI discovered that 4.4 percent of respondents were undecided and 12.9 percent could still have a change of heart.

We have been fully exposed to arguments by experts, practitioners and laymen alike on the pros and cons of each pair of candidates.

Every Indonesian political expert worth their salt has weighed in on the election exhaustively. Alas, political “buzzers” have also joined the fray to our exhaustion.

Please do not forget that aside from presidential candidates, we are also holding legislative elections to select legislative members in the national, provincial, and regency or municipal levels.

While the legislative elections may have received less fanfare over the past year, they are no less important.

Today, when you decide to go to the polling stations and cast your vote, you may meet your neighbors and a few of them might be strangers to you. Greet them, and have a little chat; today is as good as any other national holiday to get to know your local community better. For sure, your fellow Indonesians are part of the reason you are casting your ballots.

If you are part of the swing and undecided groups, maybe this short interaction with fellow citizens will help you decide. Maybe; it certainly will not hurt to find out.

Let us exercise our right to vote or else we will waste the opportunity to define the future of the nation. We also need to keep an eye on possible attempts to rig the vote by, among other means, attending the vote counts.

Have a great time on voting day and take pride in yourself and other Indonesians who are carrying out their civic duty today. See you at the polling station.