Presidential candidates venture into TikTok to win over young voters

A worker cleans ceramic tiles showing the faces of presidential candidates and political parties participating in the 2024 general election in Magelang, Central Java on Dec 4, 2023. - Antara

JAKARTA: The nation’s presidential candidates and their running mates have turned to the hugely popular video-sharing and live-streaming platform TikTok to solicit the support of young Indonesians, who make up the majority of the voter roll for the February election.

Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan made his debut on TikTok on Thursday (Dec 28), days before the country celebrated the New Year’s Eve. He hosted a live stream from East Java called “Temani Saya di Jalan” (accompany me on the road) that drew 300,000 viewers. He went live for a second time on Saturday and exceeded his initial audience with some 420,000 viewers.