President Jokowi: 2024 General Elections Must be Well-Prepared for Best Result
President Jokowi attends the Celebration of the Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) Centennial Anniversary and the 25th Anniversary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) at Manahan Stadium in Surakarta city, Central Java province, Sunday (07/23) (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Rusman)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Sunday (07/24) urged all elements to maintain the spirit of tolerance, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity), and national unity ahead of the 2024 General Elections, while underscoring that the elections must be well-prepared and run smoothly so that the process will lead to good results.
According to the President, the General Elections serve as a democratic fiesta that makes people happy and joyful, while expressing his hope that people should be free from fear of elections.
“The people should rejoice and be happy. That’s why, it’s called a democratic fiesta,” he said in his remarks during the Celebration of the country’s largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) Centennial Anniversary and the 25th Anniversary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) at Manahan Stadium in Surakarta city, Central Java province.
To that end, the Head of State expressed hope that there would be no more hate speech, fake news, and slander on social media platforms during the general elections.
“When I scrolled social media, I shook my head, ‘Why did they do like this? We are all siblings; we are all brothers and sisters, aren’t we? Hate speech containing religious identity also should not be allowed to happen,” he added.
Furthermore, President Jokowi said that different choices during general elections are common in democracy. Hence, he appealed to the people not to let these differences lead to division in the country.
“We are all brothers and sisters, we are all one nation and one country; Indonesia. Never forget that! After the elections, we have to reunite as one great nation,” he remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/UN) (AP/MUR)
