REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Some two thousand military and police officers will be deployed to guard the implementation of the second presidential election debate. The debate to be held at Sultan Hotel, South Jakarta, on February 17, 2019, at 8 p.m. local time.

"The security measure will be focused in and around the venue of the debate," spokesman of the Jakarta Metro Police Senior Commissioner Argo Yuwono remarked here, Thursday.

In line with the security measure, three security rings will be set up, with the first security ring to be handled by the presidential security forces, the second by the joint military and police team, and the third by police officers. Indonesia will organize simultaneous legislative and presidential elections on April 17, 2019, across the country.

Incumbent Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will meet in the second presidential election debate on February 17, 2019. The debate features five themes: energy, the environment, infrastructure, food, and natural resources.

The first debate was organized on January 17, 2019, based on the themes: law, human rights, terrorism, and corruption. Both candidates' camps expressed satisfaction at the performances of Jokowi and Prabowo respectively during the first debate.

Several people on social media, however, expressed disappointment regarding the first debate, as they found it to be lackluster and blamed it on the questions revealed in advance by the General Election Commission (KPU) to the candidates. In the first presidential election debate, the KPU had offered a list of five questions to both presidential candidate pairs several days before the debate.

Unlike the first debate, KPU will not give questions in advance, and Jokowi and his rival, Prabowo, will face off in the second debate without vice presidential candidates accompanying them.

The third debate is scheduled for Mar 17, and only the running mates will participate to debate on education, health, manpower, and social and cultural topics. The fourth debate, on Mar 30, will have presidential candidates and their running mates on the stage to speak about ideology, government, defense and security, and international relations.

No date had yet been decided for the fifth debate, with four of them being on stage, to debate on the economy, social welfare, finance and investment, and trade and industry.

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