TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated that the Indonesian general election of 2019 will be the most complicated election in the world. He explained further that it will elect both president and members of the legislative assembly.
"As we all see, the presidential election will be held together with the legislative election in 2019. The election will be the most complicated one in the world," he said in his address to the Indonesian military and police leadership meeting held at the Indonesian military headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Tuesday.
To this end, he asked the military and police ranks and files to increase vigilance and tighten security to maintain peace and order.
Also present at the meeting were National Police Chief General Tito Carnavian, Indonesian Military Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, and Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo. The vice president said the challenges of the 2019 election will be different from those of the previous elections.
Indonesia has held legislative elections 11 times since it proclaimed its independence on August 17, 1945. The first election which was held in 1955 was considered to be democratic and peaceful.
Seven of the 11 elections were held during the New Order government and the three others were held during the reform period.
Since 2004, the country has also organized three direct presidential elections and thousands of regional head elections. All the elections took place peacefully, he said.
The challenges of elections have changed all the time, he said.
According to the vice president, the present community do not have the same ideology as the past community in casting vote. The present community are more regionally emotional and practical and tend to choose figures rather than ideology.
Citing an example, he said in the 2014 presidential election he gained 97 percent of votes in his hometown in Bone, South Sulawesi. Likewise President Joko Widodo also gained the vast majority of votes in his hometown in Solo, Central Java.
ANTARA
