“Salam empat jari”, a movement to save Indonesia’s democracy.

One of the issues in Indonesia’s 2024 election is the concept of ‘satu putaran,’ meaning there will only be one round of the election if one pair gets more than 50% of the total votes, as regulated by Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections.

According to Article 416, Paragraph (1) of Election Law Number 7 of 2017, the conditions for a one-round election are as follows:

‘Elected Candidate Pairs’ are pairs who obtain more than 50% (fifty percent) of the total votes in the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election, with at least 20% (twenty percent) of the votes in each province spread across more than half of the total number of provinces in Indonesia.’

This concern is raised by youth and university students, initiated by Partai Hijau Indonesia and John Muhammad, disseminated by young intellectuals and activists, including those involved in initiatives such as Gejayan Memanggil and others.

Symbolism of the movement

Salam empat jari symbolizes unity between 1 (Anies/Muhaimin) and 3 (Ganjar/Mahfud) supporters/voters that aims to underscore the significance of choosing either Anies-Muhaimin or Ganjar-Mahfud, ensuring that Prabowo-Gibran does not secure absolute victory in the first round.

The number 4 also represents Sila ke-4 in Indonesia’s Pancasila, wisdom of the representatives of the people. Additionally, it signifies the people’s power against oligarchs in Indonesia, achieved without resorting to violence and fueled by an organic movement of critical thinkers and Indonesian students.

How would you relate to this movement?

This initiation is the perfect answer for the concerns raised by observing the dangerous waves of GolPut, cynical perspectives that perceive all candidates as seemingly the same evils, blatant ignorance from those who say, ‘whoever is the leader, won’t change my life anyway,’ and TikTok trends that choose a pair solely based on their ‘cute’ or ‘savage’ appearance, regardless of how least substantive they may be.

This movement is also appealing to those who prioritize ‘anyone but Prabowo Gibran,’ as well as to those opposing the political dynasty of the current president, Jokowi.

This movement stands against Jokowi’s ‘cawe-cawe’ that raises concerns about the high likelihood of electoral manipulation in the election.

We have ideological gaps, but we still have hopes.

I understand that this movement is very promising and brilliant. However, we also need to address the ideological gaps, especially if PKS and PDI-P will need to ‘sleep together on one bed.’

As of today, there is no confirmation from Anies or Ganjar, or their vice candidates. Both have stated, ‘let’s see on February 14th.’ Nevertheless, we hold hope.

If you believe that Prabowo-Gibran should not rule, now is the time to define your choice between 01 and 03. 01 stands for change, while 03 stands for continuation with possibilities of change. Learn more about the political parties behind them.

If you want to save Indonesia’s democracy from nepotism, an intellectually incapable vice president, oligarchs taking power, and a reckless multibillion-dollar megaplan, it’s time to learn about this movement.