In a few days, the Indonesian people will decide who has the right and who deserves to be the President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia. Since the legislative elections in April 2014, many speculations have been flying about who will win the presidential election this time. It is quite tense because the candidates for President and Vice President this time are quite strong figures as evidenced by various surveys that show the tight electability of each candidate. The presidential debates held every week by the General Election Commission (KPU) and broadcast by several television stations also enlivened social media and reaped millions of comments from supporters of both candidates.

However, what is the vision and mission of the two candidates towards environmental sustainability, especially corruption and money laundering practices that are rampant in the forestry sector? Each year, Indonesia loses US$2 billion from fraudulent practices in the forestry sector alone (Human Rights Watch 2012). This is due to a lack of supervision and law enforcement in a sector that was once the Republic's main commodity. In this regard, political and legal policies play an important role in eradicating corrupt practices and money laundering in the forestry sector.

Of course, choosing a leader is not an easy matter. Many are discouraged to the point of not caring anymore because they believe that conditions will not change no matter who the leader is. However, many more choose to participate in this election on the grounds that each candidate brings much hope for a change in the nation's condition. The SIAP II Consortium - consisting of WWF-Indonesia, Transparency International Indonesia and IWGFF - applauds the decision of voters, especially young voters, to participate in the 2014 Presidential Election and calls on them to remain critical when voting, as we believe that by choosing leaders with integrity and accountability we are also determining the future of the nation.

Vote for leaders with integrity, because the future is now!

Further information, please contact:
Dyah Ekarini, Media and Communication Coordinator, SIAP II
Email: drini@wwf.or.id, Hp: +62 813 85455229

Note to Editor:
SIAP II (Strengthening Integrity and Accountability Program) is a 2-year program supported by USAID that aims to strengthen integrity and accountability in sustainable forest management that is free from corrupt practices. The program is run by a consortium consisting of WWF-Indonesia, Indonesia Working Group on Forest Finance (IWGFF) and Transparency International Indonesia (TII). For more information, please click www.hutankita.org.