TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Prabowo-Sandi's National Winning Body (BPN) claimed that Democratic Party Joint Task Force Commander Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) neither notified them nor confirmed the planned meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Merdeka Palace on Thursday (May 2).

"AHY has neither kept us in the loop nor given us any confirmation of the planned meeting," Andre Rosiade, the BPN spokesman Prabowo-Sandi, remarked in Jakarta on Saturday.

However, Rosiade admitted to them having received information from Democratic Party Secretary General Hinca Pandjaitan of the Democratic Party's steady commitment to the Just and Prosperous Indonesia Coalition supporting the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pair.

"We trust Bang Hinca, who has expressed his steady commitment to our coalition," Rosiade affirmed. Furthermore, he remarked that the meeting between AHY and incumbent presidential candidate Jokowi was solely personal in nature and did not involve party institutions.

"However, we respect the reason behind holding the meeting. We continue to back the statement of the Secretary General of Democrats of staying in a coalition with us," he stated.

Saleh Daulay, one of the BPN members, noted that the Jokowi-AHY meeting was held in the context of national politics, and the talks did not have to be centered on practical politics.

"His discussion does not have to be related to practical politics, but it can also be a question of national politics on a broader context. I see the meeting in the context of a broader national politics," the deputy secretary general of the National Mandate Party (PAN) stated.

Daulay noted that the meeting was merely meant to facilitate regular communication and for the president to meet and communicate with several parties.

Speaking in connection with AHY's appeal to respect the election results, Daulay noted that the context was to ensure honesty and fairness in the election results.

"A testament to this is the Democrats often reporting to the Election Supervisory Body of different frauds they noticed. They have urged to resolve the matter properly," he noted.

Daulay believes it is not possible for AHY to respect the results of the General Election at a time when his party faced injustice as well as those encountered by the presidential coalition supported by his party.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the coalition of political parties supporting the Prabowo-Sandi pair remained firm and did not disintegrate owing to sound cross-party communication.

"Cross-party communication is still going pretty strong. All eagerly await the final results of manual tabulation," he added.

ANTARA