Widodo guilty of fraud, says film

JAKARTA: A documentary claiming Indonesian President Joko Widodo used state resources to try to swing Wednesday’s presidential election in favour of his defence minister has gone viral, amassing millions of views in a day.

Polls show former general Prabowo Subianto is on course to lead the world’s third-largest democracy after losing to Mr Widodo in 2014 and 2019.

Mr Widodo has been accused by NGOs and legal experts of manipulating eligibility requirements to install his eldest son Gibran Rakabuning Raka as Mr Subianto’s running mate, as well as increasing welfare handouts before the vote in a tacit boost to the frontrunner, who has campaigned on continuing the outgoing President’s policies.

The film, called Dirty Vote, asserts that Mr Widodo’s administration has used state officials and funds to tilt the vote for Mr Subianto, among other allegations.

“The majority of what was told in the movie was something slanderous, it’s a hate narrative that is very assumptive and very unscientific,” said Habiburokhman, deputy chair of Mr Subianto’s campaign team.

“I feel like there’s a tendency to sabotage – not sabotage, to degrade the election with a baseless narrative,” he said.

The documentary, which features three prominent independent legal experts, has racked up more than eight million views on YouTube since its release on Sunday, with many Indonesians taking to social media to comment on its claims.

“Thank you to the Dirty Vote team who has helped open my eyes about the political situation in this country,” read one comment.

“Most of it is indeed the truth,” Jusuf Kalla, Mr Widodo’s former vice-president from 2014 to 2019, said.

“It didn’t cover everything … because it didn’t cover what happened in the regions, the villages, how the social aid was received … how the officials influenced people.”

Mr Widodo’s support for Mr Subianto has caused controversy because it is uncommon in the country for a sitting president to back a successor.