Jokowi Loses on Rampant Hoaxes: Mandailing Natal Regent
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22 April 2019 20:33 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mandailing Natal Regent Dahlan Hasan Nasution surprised the public by announcing his resignation following the loss of the Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin ticket in the regency.
Based on the data from the General Elections Commission's (KPU) official website, the incumbent candidate only garnered 19.74 percent of the total vote in Mandailing Natal per 17:45 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) today.
Dahlan announced he was not worried if his resignation was perceived as a betrayal against the public who voted for him in the 2015 regional election.
When asked about the reason of Jokowi's defeat in his regency, Dahlan pinned it on the rampant spread of fake information and hoaxes aimed at the incumbent candidate throughout the presidential election campaign.
Among many hoaxes, Dahlan mentioned examples of the slanders framing Jokowi guilty of blasphemy and false information of Jokowi preparing to apply the Sharia law in the area.
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“I have no problem, but don’t resort to smear campaigns against him, with the blasphemy accusations and other sorts,” said the regent to Tempo on Monday, April 22. “The smallest details are being used, up to accusing [Jokowi] of blasphemy. That is where I had enough,” said Dahlan frustratedly.
The NasDem Party politician said many of the area’s population fell for the black campaign and was influenced by constant and continuous exposure to the hoaxes that eventually turned into a form of truth in the eyes of many.
Meanwhile, the Prabowo-Sandiaga Uno pair secured 80.26 percent of the total vote in Mandailing Natal based on the temporary data from the KPU's website.
IIL ASKAR MONZA (CONTRIBUTOR)