Lhokseumawe (ANTARA) - Incumbent President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was welcomed with a recitation of salawat (salutation and blessing on the Prophet Muhammad SAW) by supporters during an open campaign held in Lhokseumawe, Aceh Province, on Tuesday.

The presidential candidate was accompanied by his spouse Iriana, Chairman of the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin Campaign Team Erick Thohir, and Agrarian and Spatial Minister Sofyan Djalil, among others.

Jokowi greeted enthusiastic supporters and shook hands with several of them.

Some three thousand people were expected to attend the presidential election campaign, according to Taf Haikal, secretary of the Joint Secretariat of the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin team in Aceh.

"Insyaa Allah, supporters, volunteers, community prominent figures, and ulemas will be present during the open campaign," he remarked.

Indonesia will hold simultaneous legislative and presidential elections across the country's 34 provinces on April 17, 2019, believed to be one of the world's most complex elections.

Of its total population of 260 million people, over 192.8 million are registered as illegible voters in Indonesia.

The General Election Commission (KPU) will set up a total of 801,838 polling stations in the world's largest archipelago, with over 17 thousand islands.

The next presidential and legislative elections will be the fourth to be organized directly, democratically, and simultaneously across the country, which is considered as the world's fourth-largest democratic nation.

With its independence declared on August 17, 1945, Indonesia held its first elections in 1955, but it was not direct elections. The first direct presidential election was organized in 2004.

Most of the elections were relatively safe and peaceful.

The 2019 presidential election is considered by many as a repeat of the bitter 2014 presidential race, wherein Jokowi and Prabowo Subianto are again set to go head-to-head.

Seeking a second term, 57-year-old Jokowi has picked Ma'ruf Amin (75), chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), as his partner, while retired general Subianto (67) has chosen Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (49), a successful entrepreneur and former deputy governor of Jakarta, as his running mate.


Translator: M Ifdhal, Fardah
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2019