TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Declared the winner of the presidential election by a number of reputable polling organizations, Joko Widodo claims to have been sure from the start that he would make it. But to ensure that nothing happens to the ballots when they are transported from the polling stations to the office of the General Elections Commission (KPU), the Jakarta governor said he has witnesses posted at all levels of the vote recapitulation process.
Two days after the vote Jokowi went on a safari to media organizations in Jakarta, including Tempo. He arrived at dusk, just before breaking the fast last Friday, and led the communal prayer. It was not the first visit for 53-year-old Jokowi, whom the magazine named as one of the best regional chief executives in 2008, when he was still mayor of Solo in Central Java. "I am here because I miss Tempo," said Jokowi, to raucous applause. He was accompanied by his advisors, Anies Baswedan, Teten Masduki and Budiman Sudjatmiko. The following are excerpts of an informal interview Jokowi gave at our editorial office:
What is your team doing to ensure the security of the ballots?
We have monitors at polling booths in villages, districts and sub-districts. We have them at all levels, and we also added members of the Anti-Fraud Units. We also mobilized volunteers to take part in the monitoring, especially in the rural areas. This is what we really want to ensure. The C1 forms (ballots) copies that we have collected are almost 80 percent [complete]. We have a special place to record them. Hopefully, by July 22, it will be 100 percent.
What is that for?
This means there is data to backup the C1 evidence. This is the most important part, in my opinion, to get the C1 forms and enter them in the central data box, so we can have an accurate count, supported by proof. Tomorrow, I will do the rounds again, not to campaign but to check the posts on the ground, to cheer them up.
Do you trust the quick counts?
According to my experience with two elections in the regions, and then the recent gubernatorial polls, the quick count results will not be so different [from the official results]. No more than 1 percent.
In your campaign, to what extent did you rely on the volunteers?
Admittedly, organizing volunteers was not easy at first. We wanted to unite them but they didn't want to be organized by leaders. So, we let them act on their own, to form organizations without structure. What we did the last weeks was to coordinate and synchronize issues. Just that. In the end, we all came together, party members and volunteers.
How did you manage to unite them?
I think the volunteers themselves were aware that the last few weeks were very important to the campaign. In social media, volunteers were able to unite without any kind of leadership. They were united by certain issues that emerged. There were all kinds of issues spread around. But at the end, [one voice] came together. That caused public opinion and perception to rise dramatically. (*)
Read the full interview in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
