Indonesian agency declares Subianto president-elect

Indonesia’s electoral commission yesterday formally declared Prabowo Subianto presidentelect in a ceremony, after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates.

Subianto, who is minister of defense, won the election with 58.6 percent of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by either of the other two candidates.

However, his rivals alleged that his victory had depended on large-scale fraud and widespread state interference.

Authorities blocked streets leading to the General Election Commission compound, where more than 4,200 police and soldiers were deployed.

Wearing matching longsleeved white shirts, Subianto and Indonesian vice presidentelect Gibran Rakabuming Raka waved to supporters as they arrived at the building.

“The race has finished ... the tough contest, with sometimes heated debates, is over,” Subianto said during the ceremony, attended by the country’s political elite, including rival candidate Anies Baswedan and his running mate, Muhaimin Iskandar. “And now our people demand that political leaders must work together and collaborate for the people’s welfare and to eliminate poverty and corruption in Indonesia.”

Subianto is to take office in October, succeeding Indonesian President Joko Widodo, the country’s first president from outside the Jakarta elite.

The General Election Commission certified the election results on March 20, but the formal declaration ceremony was put on hold following legal challenges from rival candidates, former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo, who sought to annul the result and demand a revote.

However, in a 5-3 decision, the Constitutional Court on Monday rejected the arguments. That verdict cannot be appealed.

Baswedan and Iskandar conceded and congratulated Subianto and Raka shortly after the decision.