"The number of bodyguards needs to be reduced by half in comparison to that of the previous rounds of the election debate," KPU commissioner August Mellaz told journalists at the KPU Office here on Wednesday.
Besides requesting a reduction in the number of bodyguards, the KPU has decided to keep the number of seats for invited supporters of each candidate pair unchanged at 75, he said.
To secure and safeguard the vice presidential debate, which will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center on Sunday evening, the commission will coordinate with the Jakarta police, he added.
During the fourth round of the election debate for vice presidential candidates organized by the KPU, candidates will focus on sustainable development, natural resources, environment, energy, food, customary law communities, and villages.
The upcoming round of the debate is their second one. The vice presidential candidates' first debate round took place on December 22, 2023, during which they raised issues related to finance, the people's economy, digital economy, infrastructure, trade and investment, as well as the state budget.
Related news: KPU chief: Third presidential debate to help voters choose candidates
ANTARA reported earlier that the KPU has declared that a total of 204,807,222 voters have been registered on the final voter list for the 2024 General Elections.
The KPU also announced that the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held simultaneously across Indonesia on February 14.
The commission has officially set a 75-day election campaign period for the three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates from November 28, 2023, to February 10, 2024.
All participating political parties and presidential contenders have pledged to conduct peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections.
As part of its efforts to make voters aware of the candidate pairs' political pledges, the commission has decided to organize five rounds of General Election debates ahead of the elections.
The first and second rounds were held on December 12 and December 22, 2023. The third round took place on January 7, 2024, while the fourth and fifth rounds will be held on January 21 and February 4, respectively.
Related news: One more broadcaster gets rights to show presidential debate
The three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates contesting the election are Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud Md.
Baswedan and Iskandar have been nominated with the support of the NasDem Party, National Awakening Party (PKB), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and Ummat Party.
Meanwhile, Subianto and Raka have the backing of the Gerindra Party and a coalition of parties, including Golkar, National Mandate Party (PAN), Democratic Party, and Gelora Party.
Pranowo and Mahfud have the support of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), United Development Party, Perindo Party, and Hanura Party.
Related news: Presidential contenders to get 3 minutes to refute during debate: KPU
Translator: Genta TM, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
