Prabowo-Gibran Campaign Team Denounce Documentary Film “Dirty Vote” as Slander

By Bagus Pribadi for Tempo.com, February 11, 2024

JAKARTA — A spokesperson for the national campaign team of Indonesian presidential election candidates Gen. (Retd.) Prabowo Subianto and controversial son of outgoing President Joko Widodo, Mr. Gibran Rakabuming Raka, has responded to the release of a new documentary film “Dirty Vote,” directed by Mr. Dandhy Laksono. The 1-hour and 57-minute film details allegations of numerous irregularities in the lead up to the 2024 elections slated for February 14 this week in Indonesia.

“Much of what the film presents is slanderous, with a narrative of hatred that is assumptive, and highly unreasonable. I question the credibility of the figures featured in the film,” said deputy head of the national Prabowo-Gibran campaign team, Mr. Habiburokhman, at the campaign media center located at Jalan Sriwijaya 1 Number 16, South Jakarta, on Sunday, February 11, 2024.

He believes the film has a tendency and desire to degrade the 2024 elections with what he considers to be a very simplistic narrative. According to Mr. Habiburokhman, the wider community also understand which party is committing fraud, as well as President Joko Widodo’s commitment to upholding democracy.

“If the film is presented by Mr. Zainal Arifin Muchtar (Constitutional Law Researcher at Gadjah Mada University in Jogjakarta) to encourage people to use it as a basis for punishment, we are actually concerned that the community will be the ones to judge them. In their own way,” he said.

Mr. Habiburokhman said that campaign team also scrutinizes the statement made by Andalas University Law lecturer, Mr. Feri Amsari, who details the appointment of 20 acting regional heads in 20 provinces. “This is related to the number of registered voters, 140 million voters, which is equivalent to more than half the total number of voters in Indonesia. This narrative is highly unreasonable and illogical,” he claimed.

He questioned the validity of a regional head’s ability to ensure that all the voters in their respective areas voted as desired by President Joko Widodo. “What’s the logic behind that? It’s really a speculative and weak argument, far from being academically rigorous. I doubt if he’s a Doctor, or is he not yet a Doctor? So his knowledge hasn’t reached a philosophical level. His mode of thinking is highly questionable,” said Mr. Habiburokhman.

He also doubted the statement made by constitutional law expert at Indonesia Jentera Law School, Ms. Bivitri Susanti, who expressed her desire to be involved in the film because many people would come to understand that there has indeed been extraordinary fraud, to the extent it’s not possible to regarded the election as fair.

“This statement is completely unfounded. No specific instances of fraud are mentioned, no evidence is provided. What is the status of the reports, and how are the cases being handled?” he responded.

According to him, if one wants to talk about fraud, it must be based on facts. Mr. Habiburokhman questioned the basis on which Ms. Bivitri could claim there has been fraud. “How extraordinary is this? If there are one or two violations, have they been legally processed? So, this is pure assumption, isn’t it?” he said.

The Prabowo-Gibran campaign statement came just a few hours after the launch of the documentary film “Dirty Vote” on YouTube on Sunday, February 11, 2024. Previously in the film, three legal experts outline how fraud could occur to perpetuate the Joko Widodo dynasty. The three independent legal experts are Ms. Bivitri Susanti, Mr. Zainal Arifin Mochtar, and Mr. Feri Amsari.

For example, Feri Amsari says that you can think of the documentary “Dirty Vote” as being capable of educating voters in a situation where elections are often exploited by politicians to achieve their own interests.

“You can think of the film as a way to educate the public on how dishonest our elections are, and how politicians manipulate the public to achieve their own interests,” he said.

This article is based on https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1832188/tkn-prabowo-gibran-sebut-film-dirty-vote-bernada-fitnah

Dirty Vote

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Featured image credit: Demokrasi (Democracy), Medium: batik wax painting on fabric supported by painted bamboo rods with shoes (sic), Created by Eko Nugroho, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2015-18, NGA 2018, https://searchthecollection.nga.gov.au/object/325764