Gibran Asks For Jokowi's Blessing Before Departing For The 2024 Presidential Election Debate

Gibran Rakabuming Raka attended the PSI Kopdarnas at Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday 22 August. (Ist)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairperson of the Prabowo-Gibran National Campaign Team (TKN), Grace Natalie said that her vice presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka would ask for his father's blessing, President Joko Widodo, before undergoing a 2024 presidential election debate. "Maybe if you don't meet directly (Jokowi), there may be communication, please ask for blessings," said Grace when met in West Jakarta, Thursday. Grace admitted that he did not know technically where Gibran would go to the debate venue at the Jakarta Convention Center, Senayan, Central Jakarta, Friday 22 Desembr. However, he made sure Gibran would make preparations by exchanging ideas with certain parties to finalize the debate material. "Before the vice presidential debate, there was a chance of a brain storming to final preparation and the important thing to calm down," he explained. At the same time, Deputy Chairman of the Technical Council of TKN Prabowo-Gibran, Budiman Sudjatmiko, said Gibran made preparations for the debate by discussing the materials that had been prepared by special teams in Solo and TKN.

"He is in Solo, there is a team of friends from Solo who conveyed to him, we, and the expert council, have compiled and sent the results of our meeting," he said in a press statement, Thursday, December 21. Budiman said that his party had held a meeting that resulted in debate material to be studied by Gibran. The meeting material will be delivered directly by TKN when Gibran was already in Jakarta. The background of Gibran as an entrepreneur will also make it easier in mastering digital economic material. "The taxation, finance, digital economy, investment, APBN, and APBD. That's Mas Gibran's daily food, that's his lunch, that's also Mas Gibran's dinner," he said. Therefore, Budiman believes that Gibran's performance in Surakarta can be an example and projection for national economic development.

Previously, the General Election Commission (KPU) on Monday, November 13, 2023, determined three pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates to be participants in the 2024 Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections (Pilpres). The results of the draw and determination of the number of participants for the 2024 presidential election on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, the Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar pair number 1, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka number 2, and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud Md. serial number 3.KPU set the campaign period from November 28, 2023 to February 10, 2024, then the voting schedule on February 14, 2024.KPU has also set a schedule for the implementation of the 2024 presidential election participant debate. The entire series of debates will be held in Jakarta in a sequentially on December 12, 2023, December 22, 2024, January 21, 2024, and February 4, 2024.Debat of the presidential candidate will be held three times, while the vice presidential debate will be held twice. However, pairs of presidential/cawapres must attend on the five debate opportunities. The second debate for the vice presidential candidate will take place on December 22, 2023 with topics of economy, finance, investment, taxes, trade, and APBN.