Gerindra: If The President Can't Support The Presidential Candidate, That's The Sesat Narrative

Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the DPR Habiburokhman at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday 12 June 2023. (Between-Through S K)

Deputy Chairperson of TKN Prabowo-Gibran Habiburokhman assessed that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is certainly allowed to openly support and side with one of the presidential candidates (candidates) in the 2024 presidential election.

According to him, the president should not side with any of the presidential candidates as a false narrative. "The narrative is a misleading narrative. Because in principle and ethics there is nothing wrong either, no legal provisions have been violated, if Pak Jokowi supports one of the candidates in the presidential election," Habiburokhman told reporters in Jakarta, Wednesday, January 24.

Habiburokhman then explained that Article 23 paragraph (1) of Law Number 39 of 1999 stipulates that everyone has the right to vote and has political beliefs. Including the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

According to the Deputy Chairperson (Waketum) of the Gerindra Party, the provisions stipulate that the president has served a maximum of two terms and may take sides as well as campaign for presidential election participants.

"The heretical narrative was built based on heretical logic, that if the President should not take sides because he could use power to benefit the supported party. This logic collapsed from the start because Article 7 of the book constitution, even regulating a president can run a second time and continue to serve as President incumbent," he said. He also gave an example, in the 2008 elections in the US, President George W Bush supported John McCain against Barack Obama. Then in the 2016 election it was Obama's turn to support Hillary Clinton who fought against Donald Trump.

"The same practice is also carried out in the United States, an incumbent president may support and even campaign for one of the next presidential candidates," he said.

"Our country already has strict rules to prevent the president from using power to benefit himself or the candidates he supports," continued Habiburokhman.

This provision, he continued, is regulated in Article 306 of Law Number 7 of 2017. In general, it stipulates that the government should not make policies that benefit or harm one of the pairs of candidates. As well as Article 547 which regulates every state official who makes policies, which harm or benefit one of the pairs of candidates is threatened with a maximum imprisonment of 3 years.

"To enforce these rules, we have election organizers in the field of supervision, namely Bawaslu, to oversee the performance of Bawaslu, we have an Election Organizing Honorary Council (DKPP)," he explained. "The point is that we don't need to worry if the president uses his right to support one candidate pair because there are clear layered rules. And there are clear law enforcement agencies to ensure that there is no abuse of power," continued Habiburokhman.