"We would like to appeal to all people to exercise their voting rights on February 14. Come to voting stations and be smart voters by choosing the best candidates for the sake of the nation," he said in a statement from his ministry on Friday.
He urged people to make the most of the five-yearly festival of democracy to determine the nation's future leaders.
In a democracy, people have the right to follow their conscience and vote for their preferred candidates, he added.
Setiadi also called on the people to work with the Ministry of Communication and Informatics to make the elections a success by protecting Indonesia's digital space from hoaxes, disinformation, slander, hate speech, and false digital content.
By doing so, Indonesia can maintain its digital space as productive, safe, and comfortable both before and during the upcoming elections, he pointed out.
He said that people can take part in safeguarding the digital space by sifting through all the information.
"We hope that our digital space will be more trustworthy. To that end, it is important to verify information because hoaxes have been enemies of our digital space. For that reason, let us all work together to protect our digital space," he added.
Setiadi lauded all parties that have been playing an active role in checking the circulation of election-related hoaxes.
He observed that the cumulative number of political hoaxes during this year's general elections is still lower compared to those in 2019.
However, he expressed expectation of continued preventive measures to safeguard the digital space for the sake of peaceful general elections in 2024.
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Translator: Livia K, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Anton Santoso
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