RIOTS MAR ELECTION RESULTS
6 killed as army deployed to curb rioters protesting Jokowi’s re-election
TENS of thousands of Indonesian troops were deployed on the streets of the capital Jakarta yesterday, as the deadline approached for a presidential challenger to file an appeal over claims of widespread cheating in last month’s election.
At least six people were killed — reportedly including a 17-year old high school student — after
two nights of rioting as police clashed with protesters opposed to the re-election of President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi.
The violence has been fanned by claims from Jokowi’s rival Prabowo Subianto, a retired general, that the April 17 polls was a fraud.
Indonesia’s election commission on Tuesday confirmed Jokowi had beaten Prabowo who has until early today to file a formal challenge at the Constitutional Court.
The 67-year-old has appealed for calm and said he would pursue legal channels to contest the results, as he did, unsuccessfully, against Jokowi in 2014. Election officials and analysts had discounted Prabowo’s claims.
But many of his supporters appeared convinced of rampant cheating in the world’s thirdbiggest democracy, after India and the United States.
The streets in Jakarta were relatively quiet yesterday with police and military personnel keeping a close watch on the heart of the city, including the Election Supervisory Agency Building — the centre of much of the violence — and the presidential palace amid fears of more unrest.
Nearly 60,000 security personnel were deployed yesterday, vowed that he “won’t tolerate” more riots. Authorities blamed the violence on “provocateurs” that they claimed had come from outside Jakarta to stir up trouble.
“We’ve detained more than 300 suspects and are now interrogating them,” said national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo.
The Elections Commission has been barricaded with razor wire and protected by scores of security personnel for days.
Since the violence broke out, the volume of online hoaxes and fake news had spiked in the world’s biggest Muslim majority nation, including claims that police raided a mosque. Authorities have denied the claim.
Among dead was a 17-year-old high school student and a 19 yearold, according to local media. Authorities said the victims died from gunshot or blunt force trauma, but denied firing live rounds on the crowds.