TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta gubernatorial election has become tarnished even before the campaigning starts. A statement by incumbent Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (Ahok) to Thousand Islands residents, managed to stir the racism issue on social media and on the streets.

Ahok meant no harm. In his speech, he said that he had no problem with Jakartans not voting for him for religious reasons. But because he quoted the surah Al-Maidah verse 51 from the Qur'an, some people accuse him of insulting the holy book and Islam. Some were incensed. Many used the speech to attack Ahok and to mobilize support for their own candidates.

This racial propaganda set Jakartans and those outside the capital against each other, dividing them into two groups based on ethnic, religious, racial or group sentiments. This is truly regrettable: using race or religion is unacceptable under any circumstances.

The candidates and their supporting parties should bear the most responsibility for ensuring a campaign that is healthy, peaceful and rational. Learning from the fallout from Ahok's speech, they need to be more careful when communicating with the public. What may sound good, may not be seen as good when an opponent says it. People also need to be aware that racial sentiments are not always triggered by the words and acts from the majority. A minority candidate on the campaign trail, positioning him or herself as a victim of ethnic, racial or religious discrimination, can also trigger racial unrest.

It is not difficult to avoid these sentiments during campaigs. The candidates may be positive about many issues. They can praise their past achievements sky high, or emulate the surprise inspection strategy of President Joko Widodo, which proved to be an effective vote winner during the 2012 gubernatorial campaign. Negative campaigning, such as comparing one's own skills with the incompetence of political opponents, is also allowed as long as it is based on rational arguments.

Of course no candidate is able to control public opinion. But if they use caution when speaking and arguing, the pre-election campaigns would be a lot more sensible. After all, the campaign teams of Agus Harimurti-Sylviana Murni, Anies Baswedan-Sandiaga Uno and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama-Djarot Saiful Hidayat, are made up of professionals who surely understand the need for ethical campaign strategies.

A 'healthy' environment of the campaign can also be maintained by controlling the actions of supporters on social media. The battle between candidates, especially on Facebook and Twitter, has become excessively bitter, even though the campaign does not officially start until October 26. According to the PoliticaWave research institute, there were 243,000 posts about the three tickets, in the period between September 28 and October 4.

These attacks and counter-attacks on social media have become increasingly brutal. Supporters criticize each other without any basis or satisfactory arguments. Frequently they spread information that has not been verified, or spread gossip from sites of dubious credibility.

The General Elections Oversight Board (Bawalsu) has said it will work with the Communications and The Jakarta general Elections Commission (KPU) has also ordered campaign teams to report all social media accounts they plan to use in the campaign. But the problem is that the official election campaign has not yet started, so neither the KPU nor Bawalsu can act, let alone punish, those responsible for all the propaganda. It doesn't help that supporters act furtively by using bogus identities.

The candidates must control their supporters to behave better and to avoid hateful language. Candidates should not allow contemptible action to continue under the pretense of freedom of expression or public volunteering. It is evident that people defending their candidates on social media are organized by the campaign teams.

We hope that the next stage of the election will be peaceful and democratic. Candidates and their supporters should behave rationally and not resort to racism. The gubernatorial election is important, but it should not be carried at the cost of our diversity and solidarity. (*)

Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine