Jokowi Calls Prabowo A Statesman Despite His Withdrawal

Jakarta (Antara) - Presidential candidate Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has hailed his rival Prabowo Subianto as a statesman, despite Prabowo's withdrawal from Indonesia's 2014 presidential election process. "I am confident Mr. Prabowo is a statesman who puts the nation and state's interests above all," said Jokowi at Pluit Reservoir Park in North Jakarta, on Tuesday. On Tuesday afternoon, Prabowo had announced his withdrawal from the presidential election process following allegations of a massive and systematic fraud. Regarding this action, Jokowi said he was not surprised with Prabowo's decision. "I am calm. Did you see me getting surprised?" he asked. With regard to the result to be announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU), Jokowi affirmed that he will abide by the constitution and people's will. "More than 135 million Indonesians have voted peacefully and smoothly. No problem occurred compared to the previous election. We should respect it. The current election has involved a million committees and million witnesses, who have worked. This shows that the results have been supervised," he pointed out. KPU is scheduled under constitution to announce the result of Indonesia's 2014 presidential election contested by two pairs of candidates--Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla. (*) Reported by Ida Nurcahyani Translated and edited by Azi Fitriyanti