REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has reminded the nation that general elections must not cause disunity. Jokowi called on the Indonesian people to maintain unity, brotherhood, and harmony.

"Lest district head, mayor, gubernatorial, and presidential elections cause disunity among us," he noted here, Wednesday.

The general election, held every five years, must not cause disunity, he emphasized. The bitter presidential elections in 2014 that led to a nationwide divide must not drag on until next year's presidential election, he added.

With a population of 263 million, Indonesia is a huge nation, with some 17 thousand islands, 34 provinces, and 514 districts and cities, 714 tribes, and more than 1,100 local dialects. He remarked that a lot of slander and fake news are spread prior to the general elections.

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"From 2005, there have been people who said President Jokowi is PKI (Indonesian Communist Party). PKI was disbanded in 1961. I was born in 1965. Could an infant become a PKI member? Come on! I want to remain silent, but there are people who believe it, so I have to speak up," he clarified.

He reminded the Indonesian people to remain united and polite and to avoid mockery and slander.

Indonesia will hold presidential and legislative elections on April 17, 2019, which is considered a re-run of the 2014 presidential election.

Incumbent Jokowi and his running mate, KH Maruf Amin, will once again go head-to-head with Prabowo Subianto who is now accompanied by Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno as his vice presidential candidate.

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