In a bid to seek re-election, Jokowi arrived at the General Election Commission (KPU) today to register himself and Ma`ruf Amin as the presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively.
A swarm of Jokowi`s supporters waited and cheered before the Commission, chanting the president`s name for hours. Some of them even arrived earlier than Jokowi`s planned arrival at 9 AM local time, despite the fact that Jokowi called on his supporters not to join him en masse during the registration.
"There is no need to blow it out of proportion, as we are still mourning for our brothers in West Nusa Tenggara Province," the president noted yesterday after a closed meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, referring to the victims of the earthquake on Lombok Island.
Golkar, one of the members of Jokowi`s coalition, appeared to have summoned the most number of supporters at the venue with a campaign truck broadcasting election theme songs.
Supporters of Jokowi`s Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP), together with other coalition partners, joined forces before the Commission as well.
Jokowi secretly entered the Commission at around 9 to 10 AM, without being noticed by the press and crowds.
At around 11 AM, Jokowi left KPU and greeted his supporters outside, highlighting the climax of the whole gathering.
Eyeing a second term in the 2019 presidential election, the incumbent Indonesian president surprised the public by picking the General Chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council, Ma`ruf Amin, as his running mate yesterday.
Prabowo Subianto, General Chairman of the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) and Jokowi`s greatest challenger, entered KPU and registered for the election later today at around 1:30 PM.
Indonesia will organize the presidential and legislative elections simultaneously on April 17, 2019. This will be a rematch between Jokowi and Subianto since the 2014 presidential election.
Reporting by Chi Jo-yao
Editing by Andi Abdussalam
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
