"We remain upbeat that the people would maintain composure in practicing democracy," Kalla informed journalists after initiating a meeting of key figures at his residence here on Thursday evening to deliberate on Indonesia's present situation.
It is acceptable to harbor feelings of disappointment over a democratic process, and a protest can be staged in line with legal procedures by lodging a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court (MK) over the disputed election results, he explained.
Kalla praised the decision of the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pair to lodge a challenge to the result of the election in the MK and expressed hope that the trial would be held in a fair, transparent, and independent manner.
"We highly laud the stance of the two presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs to resolve electoral issues through the legal course. We are optimistic of all matters being resolved in the Constitutional Court," he reiterated.
Hence, Kalla called on the people to exhibit self-restraint, facilitate the resolution of problems through legal procedures, and desist from violent acts in exercising their freedom of right to speech.
Vice President Kalla had extended an invite to several eminent personalities in Indonesia, comprising religious and community leaders, to visit his residence on Thursday evening for holding discussions on the nation's current situation.
Try Sutrisno, Mahfud MD, Din Syamsudin, Komaruddin Hidayat, Bambang Hendarso Danuri, Abdul Mukti, Sofyan Djalil, Amirsyah Tambunan, Syafruddin, Agus Wijoyo, and Anies Baswedan were among the attendees at the meeting that began at about 8:30 p.m. local time.
The KPU had declared the final results of the recent parliamentary and presidential elections, expounding on the victory of the Joko Widodo (Jokowi)-Ma'ruf Amin pair on early Tuesday.
The KPU's final tally declared at around 1:28 a.m. local time showed the Jokowi-Amin pair garnering 85 million votes, or 55.5 percent of the national vote, as compared to contenders Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno's 68 million votes, or 44.5 percent.
The Jokowi-Amin pair had declared victory, while the Prabowo-Sandi pair rejected the KPU's official tabulation result and vowed to challenge it by filing an official complaint with the MK.
This unfinished political process triggered mass demonstration from supporters of the Prabowo-Sandi pair alleging massive fraud in the presidential elections.
Tensions spiraled and escalated to a riot in the Tanah Abang area of Central Jakarta from Tuesday evening to early Wednesday.
The post-election rioting resulted in eight deaths and injuries to 541 people, as of Thursday at 11 a.m. local time, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan stated.
Translator: Fransiska Ninditya, Rahmad Nas
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
