Army Chief Of Staff Reminds His Staff To Stay Neutral During The 2024 Pilkada

Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak (left) shook hands with Udayana Military Commander Major General Muhammad Zamroni/Handout Information of Udayana Military Command via ANTARA

JAKARTA - Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak reminded his staff to remain neutral during the 2024 Pilkada contestation.

"Don't let anyone take sides, this is very sensitive. We are trying to make this government run as well as possible," Maruli said in a video meeting with his staff which was uploaded on the official Instagram account @tni_angkat_darat, as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 28.

According to Maruli, the Indonesian Army has a responsibility to ensure that the 2024 Pilkada runs safely and conducively.

One thing that his party can do is ensure that all personnel in the region do not side with any candidate pairs.

By not taking sides, Maruli believes that personnel will be more independent in carrying out security duties in each region.

Not only that, Maruli also ordered regional officials to be sensitive to potential conflicts during the regional elections.

Maruli assessed that this sensitivity was very much needed so that the Indonesian Army could prevent the conflict from spreading to disturb the public.

"I hope that the commanders of the study unit commanders, read, what developments are going on," said Maruli.

Maruli hopes that the TNI AD can play a large role in maintaining the conduciveness of the community during the 2024 Pilkada.

Based on the schedule for the regional elections uploaded on the KPU's official website, registration of candidate pairs for regional heads will be opened from August 27 to August 29, 2024.

After that, the KPU will conduct research on the requirements of candidate pairs from 27 August 2024 to 21 September 2024.

After the research process is completed, the KPU will then determine the candidate pair on September 22, 2024.

Furthermore, the candidate pairs that have been determined by the KPU are allowed to hold a campaign from September 25, 2024 to November 23, 2024.

After the campaign is complete, the KPU will hold a vote on November 27, 2024.