Indonesians protest former general Prabowo’s unofficial win in presidential election, allege widespread fraud
Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) is expected to announce the official results of last month's presidential election on Wednesday (Mar 20).
Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto votes at a polling station during the general election in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, February 14, 2024. (REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)
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JAKARTA: Indonesia's presidential election may be over, but demonstrations against the unofficial results continue.
Policemen have been deployed in front of Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) to ensure that such protests do not turn violent.
The protesters are demanding that the election authority stop Indonesian presidential frontrunner and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto from taking office as the country’s next president. They are also claiming massive election fraud.
Despite the political heat, the demonstrations have largely been untroubled.
PRABOWO’S HUGE LEAD OVER RIVALS
The KPU is expected to announce the official results of last month's presidential election on Wednesday (Mar 20).
Quick ballot counts conducted by independent survey groups and think tanks have shown that Mr Prabowo, a controversial military veteran, has a big lead over his opponents, former governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo.
The unofficial results suggest that Mr Prabowo garnered about 58 per cent of the votes cast at the Feb 14 poll. Mr Anies won around 25 per cent of the votes, while Mr Ganjar Pranowo clinched about 17 per cent.
But alleged irregularities in the electoral process are expected to set off challenges over the results, said observers.
Incumbent President Joko Widodo has also been accused of meddling in the election and showing favouritism towards Mr Prabowo, whose running mate is Jokowi’s eldest son, Mr Gibran Rakabuming Raka.
“We discovered many frauds before the polls, during the polls and after the polls. This series of frauds has been in the works for a very long time,” said People’s Petition Coalition spokesman Marlin Bato.
“So we feel that this was a very inappropriate election and the worst. Our action doesn't just stop here. We will continue perhaps even after March 20, we will continue to speak out about these frauds.”
Mr Prabowo’s rivals have not conceded defeat, and are waiting for the official outcome from the KPU before disputing it with Indonesia's Constitutional Court.
They are also expected to turn to the House of Representatives to launch a right of inquiry into what has been described as “structured, systematic and massive” election fraud.
“When academics, cultural figures, professionals, students and even ordinary people have started making noise about something that is considered to be cheating, then I think it would be naive if the House of Representatives just kept quiet and let it go as if nothing happened,” said Member of Parliament Luluk Nur Hamidah of the National Awakening Party.
“Today, we hear so many aspirations from various parties that the House should exercise its constitutional rights through the right of inquiry.”
CHALLENGING THE ELECTION RESULT
But political parties aligned to the likely election winner have rejected the right of inquiry.
“We too, have heard various aspirations on the ground. One of the most urgent aspirations from the people is unemployment or job creation,” said Member of Parliament Kamrussamad of the Gerindra Party.
“It is not the right of inquiry that they need, it is the right of people such as public transportation drivers. And because of that, I want to remind you to not let the response of those who are not ready to lose be the worst response in the history of elections in the reformed era.”
“Challenging the result of the election with this 40 per cent margin difference is not going to happen, because how could you prove that 40 per cent of the votes are fraud (or) illegal. There's no way you can prove that,” said lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, deputy head of the campaign team for Mr Ganjar and his running mate Mahfud MD.
“So we will argue that when we talk about election disputes, we are not only talking about the output of the election, but we are also talking about the process of the election, prior to the election.”
The political turbulence continues into the holy month of Ramadan, which some have seen as an opportunity for the community to forgive and resolve differences.
Istiqlal Mosque spokesman Ismail Cawidu called for reconciliation, adding that: “Whatever that has been done is done. Let's get back to building rapport and togetherness.”
