TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice presidential candidate Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar, known as Cak Imin, clarified that he and his running mate Anies Baswedan never asked the General Elections Commission (KPU) to cancel the forthcoming rounds of vice presidential debates.

“Mas Anies and I never proposed it (the format of the debates),” Cak Imin said in a written statement, at the Padang State University in West Sumatra, on Monday, December 4.

The KPU has decided to alter the structure of the presidential and vice presidential candidate debates for the 2024 election. The most recent format requires all pairs of candidates to engage in five rounds of debates.

KPU Commissioner, Idham Holik, said the debate structure would be similar to that in the 2019 presidential election. “There is nothing different,” he confirmed over the phone on Saturday, December 2.

Cak Imin also said that his side would comply with all the formats for the presidential and vice presidential debates organized by the poll agency. “We will follow whatever the KPU rules,” he said.

Earlier, rumors emerged that the KPU would cancel two rounds of debates for vice presidential contenders, sparking controversy among the public. Some argued that the move was aimed at favoring the pair of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

In defense, the Prabowo-Gibran campaign team member Dradjad Wibowo claimed that it was first proposed by the Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin campaign team during a meeting with the KPU and then supported by his representative.

Dradjad refuted the report that the KPU had deliberately changed the debate format for the sake of President Jokowi's eldest son's interest in the presidential race.

ADIL AL HASAN | SULTAN ABDURRAHMAN

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