“Brothers and sisters, don’t be pitted against each other by foreign nations, don’t be continuously lied to, we must become a great, prosperous country, therefore we must maintain harmony and unity,” the former general told tens of thousands of supporters who had flocked to a stadium in central Jakarta for the rally.

Prabowo, who at 72 is Indonesia’s oldest presidential candidate, also took a jab at those who opposed his 400 trillion rupiah (US$25.6 billion) plan to offer schoolchildren free meals.

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“Those who say that food for children is not important, in my opinion, are not sane people, not people who love their country. Whoever wants to be my minister, must agree that the children must be given lunch. If you don’t agree, there’s no need to join Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet,” he said.

“When we heard that in the days ahead there would be operations, to intimidate, to lead public opinion that the election would conclude in one round, I believe that the Indonesian people will face it with conscience, fight it with conscience,” Anies said.

“We are sure that, out there, there are government officials, civil servants, police officers, members of the armed forces, who are also Indonesian people who want their children to have a better future. That’s why, I’m sure, they will follow their conscience – even though they face invisible pressures.”

While the hugely popular Widodo has not officially endorsed any candidate, he is widely perceived to be backing Prabowo and his son Gibran – leading to accusations of a conflict of interest, as well as talk of social aid and other instruments of state power being misused to sway voters.

Jusuf Kalla, a former vice-president who was the running mate of Widodo in 2014, appeared as a special guest at Anies’ rally to publicly declare his support for the candidate for the first time.

Saturday’s back-to-back rallies worsened Jakarta’s already notorious traffic congestion, particular in the north and central parts of the city, but that did not stop enthusiastic supporters such as Muhammad Reza Wibowo from turning out to cheer for his preferred choice of president: Prabowo

“I’ve been voting for Prabowo for a long time, since 2014, but he’s always lost. This year he is sure to win. I like Prabowo because he is firm, he doesn’t want to be told what to do, and he is anti-corruption,” the 36 year-old said.

Another Prabowo supporter, first-time voter Giska Permatasari, said she liked that the ex-general had vowed to uphold Widodo’s legacy projects.

“I also like Gibran as he’s already been tested in Surakarta,” she said of the city in Central Java where Widodo was born and served as mayor from 2005 to 2012, with his son occupying the same role from 2021.

In Surakarta, Ganjar called for voters to “fight” against all election fraud by “voting with calm and conscience”.

During the rallies, he touted programmes that “answer the people’s complaints”, such as creating 17 million new jobs and making the price of foodstuffs more affordable.

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“Cheap prices and easy job searches are the answer to the anxiety of young people who come to us. This includes creating a programme to provide one health facility and one health worker in each village, to answer public health complaints,” Ganjar said.

More than 204 million people, or 72 per cent of Indonesia’s population, are eligible to vote in the February 14 elections to determine a new president, and legislators at the regional and national level.