As millions of Jakarta residents cart their ballots in the country’s most-heated—and its ugliest—election in recent years on Wednesday morning, the capital’s media dove deep into what really matters, reporting on what the candidates wore, ate, and did before the start of election day.
The election has been called everything from a sign of rising religious intolerance in Indonesia, to a vote where the very fabric of our nation hangs in the balance. But we’re going to focus on the real issues here, like what you all ate for breakfast.
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Here’s our totally exciting rundown of what went down in the early hours of the polls:
Anies ate some nasi uduk
Anies Baswedan had a pretty sweet spread. According to local reporters, who were, for some reason, sitting in his dining room as he ate, Anies had rice, bakwan jagung, sambal udang balado pete, fried chicken, stir fried papaya leaves, sambal oncom terong, sambal oncom lenca, fried eggplant, krupuk, and sambal ati for breakfast. It all sounds a hell of a lot better than the croissant sandwich I ate this morning.
Anies was particularly taken with the sambal, a spicy chili sauce he said is special made in Bandung, West Java.
“This is sambal leunca,” he told a reporter from Tribune News as he ate.
Ahok ate bakmi seafood
Incumbent Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ate some bakmi seafood prepared by his household maid for breakfast. Reporters wrote that the governor, a man known as Ahok, typically enjoys kiwi and papaya after breakfast. They speculated that today was no different.
The family then prayed that Ahok would win the election before heading out to cast their ballots at the Pantai Mutiara complex, in Pluit, North Jakarta. “We pray for the best for our service,” Ahok told local media.
Sandi went for a run
Sandiaga Uno, or Sandi, woke early and prayed for victory for him and Anies in the election. He then was seen jogging in a hat, sunglasses, and a t-shirt that read “Jakarta Berlari” (“Jakarta Runs”). He told reporters that he was running so that he would stay optimistic about the election.
“I’m running for strength and energy,” he told reporters. “There are endorphins that come out of this so we can think positive and optimistic about an end result that will be best for Jakarta.”
Djarot kissed his wife
Incumbent Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat kissed his wife Happy Farida on the cheek and the forehead before the pair got into a car and drove off to vote. His local polling station was too far from his official residence to walk, he said.