JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Forget about the challenger or the two running mates. Ignore the sweet electoral promises either candidate makes. Next year’s election really comes down to the question of whether or not the nation thinks incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo should continue to lead them from 2019 to 2024. This may be billed as a rematch of the 2014 election, which was fought fiercely, but in all seriousness, two-time loser Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto is no match for Jokowi, who goes into the race with all the strengths and advantages that an incumbent enjoys. The hashtag war on social media, which has been going on for months, attests to the central theme of the election, even before a hesitant Prabowo plunged himself into the race on Friday. The opposition camp has been hard at work promoting the #2019gantipresiden(#2019ChangePresident) campaign, essentially conveying the message that the President had failed and that almost anyone running against the incumbent would be better. That’s the reason why there had been many political figures with minimal presidential credentials, including Amien Rais, who fancied themselves for the nation’s top job, if only they could get a ticket. The Jokowi camp has responded in kind by aggressively putting out its own #Jokowi2period (#Jokowi2Periods) campaign on social media. For many voters, April 17, 2019, will not be so much about whether an untested Prabowo would make a better president. That was the theme in 2014 and they voted for Jokowi. Next year,… [Read full story]
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