BEM UI recently uploaded an Instagram post containing harsh criticism towards President Jokowi for being perceived as endorsing a presidential candidate too frequently in the 2024 elections.
In their critique, BEM UI expressed their disappointment with Jokowi's political stance and ethics, stating that he is excessively biased towards a candidate supported by one of his coalition parties in the past.
As the President, BEM UI believes that Jokowi should refrain from favoring any specific presidential candidate and should uphold his independence and neutrality leading up to the 2024 elections. Based on the Instagram post by @bemui_official on Saturday, May 20, 2023, BEM UI assesses Jokowi as lacking neutrality and utilizing state resources to benefit a political party.
"Throughout the journey towards the 2024 elections, President Joko Widodo has openly displayed a biased stance. He has repeatedly expressed support for a particular presidential candidate and utilized state resources for the interests of a political party," wrote the @bemui_official account in their Instagram post on Saturday, May 20, 2023.
BEM UI believes that a president holds significant influence within a country. Therefore, declaring support for a specific presidential candidate tends to trigger perceived unfairness among other candidates, influence public perception, and create inequality in the political competition during the 2024 elections.
In their post, BEM UI also listed a series of allegations regarding President Jokowi's endorsement of a specific presidential candidate. Here are 5 actions that BEM UI considers as forms of President Jokowi's support towards a particular candidate:
- Firstly, on May 20, 2022, President Jokowi stated that a presidential candidate could be among them. At that time, the candidate currently being endorsed also attended the event.
- Secondly, on November 26, 2022, President Jokowi mastated that one characteristicf a leader who cares about their people is having white hair. This narrowed down to the candidate supported by one of the political parties.
- Thirdly, on January 10, 2023, President Jokowi mentioned that the presidential candidate in the 2024 elections is a cadre of PDIP. This was conveyed during the 50th anniversary of PDIP.
- Fourthly, on April 4-6, 2023, President Jokowi met several times with a candidate whose electability was declining due to issues related to the U-20 World Cup.
- Fifthly, on April 21, 2023, President Jokowi accompanied one of the candidates to Solo immediately after that candidate was assigned as the PDIP presidential candidate.
