Candidates Appreciate Media Over Campaign Reporting

Jakarta (Antara) - The two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates have praised media for having spread campaign stories across the country. "May I use this opportunity to thank for the cooperation during the campaign period in the past month. We have presented our ideas, views, programs and strategies to improve and secure our nation," presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said at a press conference early on Sunday morning, following the final presidential debate. He said the media had made campaigning to be alive and successful. Prabowo's running mate Hatta Rajasa meanwhile said that the media had helped reporting campaign activities to the people across the country. "Finally let us maintain the situation to be peaceful and tranquil in the current cooling-down period," he said. Prabowo's rival candidate Jokowi has also called for maintenance of peace and tranquility. "We must maintain the situation to remain peaceful and tranquil and prevent any problem to arise within the community and prioritize national unity and cohesiveness," he said while thanking youths, students, workers, farmers for the support they gave during the campaign period. His running mate, Jusuf Kalla (JK), meanwhile thanked the media for having presented the visions and missions of the candidates in balance. "We also thanked the KPU (General Election Commission), TNI (military), the police, volunteers and community members for having safeguarded the democracy," he said. The debate that ended late on Saturday night would be followed by a cooling-down period until the election date on July 9. (*)