TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two ministries in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s cabinet refuted claims of election violations. Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan questioned the reason why these issues were brought up during the silence period.

“How could we proceed with a foul these days? Everything is open. Even the most confidential meeting has no secret,” Zulkifli Hasan, known as Zuhas, remarked on Monday at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

According to Zulhas, committing underhanded actions concerning the election is difficult these days, with the media and communities observing every step. Zulhas also claimed that citizens already have their own choices.

“I believe Indonesian citizens already decided [who to vote for]. Let’s just wait, don’t spread around nonsense issues. It creates anxiety among people,” Zulhas said.

Civil groups and academic figures already expressed their worry about Jokowi’s abuse of power ahead of the imminent presidential election. The release of ‘Dirty Vote’ film on Sunday only added to the widespread concern.

Some of those abuses of powers include mobilizations of village heads, social assistance distribution, and the Constitutional Court decision that allowed Gibran Rakabuming Raka to contest as a vice presidential candidate.

On a separate occasion, Golkar Party head Airlangga Hartarto said that Dirty Vote was a form of black campaign against Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

“This is a black movie. Black campaign. There’s no need to comment [on the substances], black movie is released during the election silence period,” said the coordinating minister on Monday.

Dirty Vote is a long-form movie by Dandhy Laksono, released on Sunday, February 11. The movie presented three constitutional law experts; Bivitri Susanti, Feri Amsari, and Zainal Arifin Mochtar.

Airlangga said the most important thing was for the citizens to exercise their right to vote. “There’s no need to murky the waters. We are the biggest democracy after the United States and India. Let’s just push for lawful general elections according to existing mechanisms,” he concluded.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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