The Indonesian presidential election has divided the public, friends, and even families, but one couple found common ground in it where others have found hatred.
Recently, the photo of the wedding invitation above went viral for explicitly conveying that the engaged couple are picking different sides in tomorrow’s election. With a backdrop of the Indonesian flag, the groom can be seen giving a thumbs up, which is the campaign gesture of incumbent President Joko Widodo, while the bride is seen doing the two-finger pose synonymous with Prabowo Subianto’s campaign.
As if the message wasn’t clear enough, the campaign logos of both Jokowi and Prabowo are placed above the heads of the bride and groom, respectively.
Speaking to Kompas, the bride, Lisa Novita Sari, says she has been together with the groom, Abul Hasan Al-Asy Ari, since the last presidential election five years ago, which also pitted Jokowi versus Prabowo.
“In the last election Ari and I picked the same presidential candidate,” Lisa said without elaborating on who they picked then, adding that one of them changed their preference over the years.
Lisa said she and Ari often argue about politics, but it has never broken them apart.
“In conceptualizing our wedding invitation, there was one message that we wanted to convey: having different choices should not break us apart, but unite us,” she said.
Lisa and Ari are set to tie the knot on Saturday, April 20 — three days after the election — in Lisa’s hometown in Lampung Province. Regardless of who wins the election by then, both Lisa and Ari will have won a lifetime of happiness together (hopefully).
On the flip side, others in Indonesia have not been so tolerant of others’ political preferences. One of the most extreme examples was when, earlier this year, a family was forced to relocate two graves over differences in political opinion with the graveyard’s landowner.
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