Jokowi gets a second term
Hundreds protest results of Indonesia re-election
Official count shows Indonesian President Joko Widodo has comfortably won re-election in last month’s polls. But his opponent Prabowo Subianto tells reporters he believes there had been widespread cheating and about 800 supporters gather in a peaceful protest in Jakarta.
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo comfortably won re-election in last month’s polls, an official count showed, throwing the spotlight on his opponent who refused to concede as his supporters gathered in the capital to protest the result.
Yesterday, the General Election Commission (KPU) confirmed unofficial counts by private pollsters in the April 17 election, giving Joko a 55.5% share of votes against 44.5% for Prabowo Subianto.
Joko, popularly known as Jokowi, won more than 85 million votes of a total of 154 million cast in the world’s third-largest democracy, but Prabowo told reporters he believed there had been widespread cheating and about 800 supporters gathered in a peaceful protest.
The retired general pledged that he would “continue to make legal efforts in line with the constitution to defend the mandate of the people”.
Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, the legal director of Prabowo’s campaign team, confirmed that it planned to contest the result in the Constitutional Court.
The KPU announced official results more than a day earlier than expected after working into the early hours yesterday.
On Monday, an election supervisory agency dismissed claims of systematic cheating, citing a lack of evidence, and independent observers have said the poll was free and fair.
A relaxed-looking Jokowi pledged yesterday to be a leader for all Indonesians.
“We are grateful and proud that amid our differences, we have been mature in keeping the peace,” he said on a visit to a poor neighbourhood of the capital.
Ben Bland, director of the SouthEast Asia Project at Lowy Institute, said the election showed how identity and religious politics appeared to be increasingly “embedded in the political discourse in Indonesia”.
“The challenge for Joko is to try and find a way to defuse tensions,” said Bland.
Financial markets were mixed, with stocks up nearly 1% and the rupiah off 0.1%.
Andry Taneli, a portfolio manager at Ciptadana Asset Management, said stocks had responded positively to the official result.
“On the other hand, there is concern about Prabowo not accepting the result, but we can see everywhere that police and army are ready to ensure security,” Taneli said.
Prabowo had warned that the cheating claims could trigger “people power”-style protests, though ahead of the result he had urged supporters in a video to be “peaceful in our struggle”.
Authorities have tightened security in the capital to choke off any civil unrest and detained dozens of militants suspected of planning attacks.
Police said they had held or interrogated at least three leading opposition figures for suspected treason.
Police have also rolled out extra barbed wire and readied armoured trucks and water cannon around the KPU.