Antara
Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto paid a courtesy call on Sultan of Yogyakarta Hamengku Buwono X at the Sultan's office, here, Monday.

Subianto made the visit in the company of Gerindra politician Adhyaksa Dault, PPP politician Syukri Fadholi, and chairman of the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno National Campaign Team (BPN) Djoko Santoso.

Media access was closed to the around 45-minute-long meeting.

After the meeting concluded, Subianto informed the media that during the courtesy call, he had sought the Sultan's permission for his visit to Yogyakarta.

"This is a courtesy call. We seek permission, as I visit his region. It is a regular feature to pay a visit to a regional head," he explained.

The discussions between Subianto and the Yogyakarta Sultan centered around the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, the national slogan of "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" or Unity in Diversity, and national self-reliance, among others.

Subianto was planned to organize an open campaign on Monday afternoon at the Kridosono Stadium in Yogyakarta.

Over 192 million Indonesians are estimated to cast their ballots in the 2019 simultaneous nationwide legislative and presidential elections on Apr 17.

The 2019 race is set to be a re-match of the bitterly fought 2014 presidential election that brought to light the country's divide, as Joko Widodo (Jokowi) clashed against retired general Prabowo Subianto.

Jokowi has picked prominent cleric Ma'ruf Amin as his running mate, while Subianto has chosen as his running mate successful and young businessman Sandiaga Uno.

EDITED BY INE


Translator: Lukman Hakim, Fardah
Editor: Eliswan Azly
Copyright © ANTARA 2019