"I am ready to facilitate the meeting of both presidential candidates. I have even texted Prabowo and Jokowi, but I have not received any response from them so far," Din Syamsuddin said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Din Syamsuddin, the chairman of Muhammadiyah, Indonesias second-largest Muslim community, urged both presidential hopefuls to create conducive situation following the announcement of the election result by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on July 22.

"I hope both presidential candidates can honor the result of the election, whether they lose or win," Din remarked.

He noted that election is a common democratic process in the world. However, the 2014 presidential election in Indonesia, which saw a close competition between its two presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo, had divided the nation.

"It happens because supporters of both the candidates launch attacks on each other using sensitive issues such as religion, race, and other forms of black campaign, which have created deep scars among the people," Din pointed out.

The chief of Muhammadiyah also highlighted the presence of the quick count service provided by private agencies during the presidential election where some of the results showed that one presidential candidate could win the election while the others gave contradictory results.

"We must wait for the real count of the presidential election, which will be announced by the KPU on July 22," he added.

While waiting for the real count of the presidential election, Din called on Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo (or popularly known as Jokowi) to meet personally and ensure that their supporters create a peaceful post-election situation.

Din said Indonesia needs both presidential candidates to exhibit patriotism. Those who win should remain calm upon accepting victory while those who lose should accept their defeat wholeheartedly.

"I am ready to facilitate the meeting of both presidential candidates. I have even texted Prabowo and Jokowi, but I have not received any response from them so far," added Din.

Indonesia recently held its presidential election on July 9, which was contested by two presidential candidates, Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo.

According to the KPU, a total of 190,307,134 voters had registered for the election, which included 2,038,711 overseas voters, with 486,866 polling stations set up across the archipelago.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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