White doves symbolise start to ‘peaceful’ Indonesia election race between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto
Some 186 million voters are expected go to the polls on April 17, in an election which will also decide members of national and local parliaments
Campaigning for Indonesia’s presidential election officially began Sunday with the two contenders releasing white doves and vowing a peaceful race as concerns simmer the campaign will sharpen religious and ethnic divides.
The election due in April pits incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo against former general and ultranationalist Prabowo Subianto, who lost to Widodo in 2014.
Dressed in traditional clothing, the candidates and their running mates paraded through central Jakarta on Sunday and released doves at a ceremony after reading out a peaceful campaign declaration.
The 2014 presidential election was marred by dirty campaigning and wild internet rumours that Jokowi was a secret communist and of Chinese background, accusations often used in Indonesia to discredit or intimidate political opponents.
Jokowi, the first Indonesian president from outside the country’s political and military elite, has picked conservative cleric Ma’ruf Amin as his running mate, aiming to neutralise criticism that he is insufficiently Muslim.
