Advertisement

Ex-general challenges Indonesian election result

The loser of Indonesia’s presidential election, Prabowo Subianto, will challenge the result in the country’s constitutional court.

Mr Prabowo withdrew himself from the contest hours before Joko Widodo was to be named the winner on Tuesday, blasting the process as “legally tainted”.

But his team on Wednesday reeled back his withdrawal from the race, saying he had withdrawn from the counting process only.

The ex-general remains a candidate and therefore can challenge in the court, spokesman Tantowi Yahya told reporters in Jakarta.

“We cannot and will not ignore the evidence while the will of the people remains in question,” he said.

The team claims there was widespread fraud in the July 9 poll, putting 21 million votes in question.

It wants 52,000 polling stations re-checked for irregularities, although it admits it doesn’t know if the votes in question could give Mr Prabowo the win.

“For sure, yes, they don’t all belong to us,” Mr Yahya said.

The team claims voters could have washed ink from their fingers that designates a ballot cast and re-voted, and speculated that hackers may have been responsible for fraud.

Mr Joko, known by his nickname “Jokowi”, won the hard-fought election battle with 53 per cent of the vote to Mr Prabowo’s 47 per cent.

Congratulations to the popular Jakarta governor have come from leaders all over the world, including Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Mr Prabowo wants leaders to refrain “until due process is complete”.

In his acceptance speech on Tuesday night, Mr Joko called for the nation to move on from the period of fierce partisanship, into a new era of unity.

The court will rule in late August, prolonging the country’s election uncertainty.

Mr Prabowo’s brother and adviser Hashim Djojohadikusumo says they will only stop when their legal and political avenues are exhausted: “When we get a satisfactory answer, redress or steps are taken that address our grievances,” he said.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.