KPU Affirms TV Organizers For Presidential Candidate Debates According To Decree

KPU member August Mellaz /ANTARA / HAna Kinarina

The General Elections Commission (KPU) said it would continue to maintain the MNC group as a television station organizing a presidential candidate debate broadcast (candidate) on January 7, 2024.

KPU member August Mellaz explained that the media appointment was in accordance with the KPU's Decree (SK) even though there had been objections from the candidate pairing team to reconsider the granting of broadcasting rights to the second presidential candidate debate title to the MNC Group.

"So, the organizing media, like the KPU Decree, has already been divided, the organizing media for the first debate is who, the second debate is who, the third debate is, who is the fourth debate, until the fifth debate. Well, this is still done by MNC," August said as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, January 3.

August explained that later there will be further talks towards the remaining time before the third debate of the 2024 presidential election on Sunday (7/1).

"Today is our part as the usual commitment to update the place, then who is the panelist, the theme is definitive, including the moderator," he explained.

The KPU appointed two television journalists, Ariyo Ardi and Anisha Dasuki, to be moderators in the presidential candidate debate at Istora Senayan.

Previously, the Secretary of the Prabowo-Gibran National Campaign Team (TKN), Nusron Wahid, explained that TKN asked the Indonesian KPU to exchange private TV stations as organizers of the three presidential elections so that they would not only be from the MNC Group.

On a different occasion, vice presidential candidate Muhaimin Iskandar also asked private TV that holds the right to broadcast the implementation of the presidential candidate debate to maintain its independence.

The third debate of the presidential election organized by the Indonesian KPU has the theme defense, security, international relations, globalization, geopolitical, and foreign politics.

The debate will be held on January 7, 2024 and broadcast on the MNC network or Group, such as RCTI, Global TV, and iNews TV.

The owner of the MNC Group, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, is the General Chair of the Perindo Party as the couple Ganjar-Mahfud.