Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto did not give specific instructions regarding the Nov. 27 regional elections during his speech to hundreds of local administration heads who gathered on Thursday for a coordination meeting in Bogor, West Java.
Presidential spokesman Hasan Nasbi told reporters that in his speech delivered to governors, mayors and regents, Prabowo only gave general directions on where the country is headed in the next five years.
"There's no specific directive regarding the regional election, nothing whatsoever in terms of direction and he did not touch on the issue of the general election," Hasan was quoted by Antara as saying.
A number of senior cabinet ministers including Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan, Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Attorney General ST Burhanudin joined President Prabowo.
In the lead-up to the late November regional election, Prabowo has projected an image of neutrality despite the fact that a number of candidates running in the polls are backed by his Gerindra Party.
Prabowo's predecessor Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on the other hand has expressed his political preference by backing high-profile candidates in the election including his son-in-law Bobby Nasution, who is running for governor in North Sumatra, and former Central Java police chief Ahmad Luthfi, who stands against Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) candidate former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. (ret) Andika Perkasa.