Widodo secures election victory
HEAVILY armed Indonesian troops were on high alert on Tuesday amid fears of civil unrest in the capital Jakarta, as the surprise early announcement of official election results handed Joko Widodo another term as leader of the world’s third biggest democracy.
The election commission had been due to give the divisive poll’s f i na l t a l ly on Wednesday, but results were announced early on Tuesday instead.
Presidential challenger Prabowo Subia nto, a 67-yea r-old ret i red general, vowed to take his claims of widespread cheating to court as several thousand supporters rallied in the sprawling capital.
Tensions have also spiked since pol ice sa id last week t hat t hey arrested dozens of Islamic Statel i n k e d t e r r or s u s p e c t s w ho planned to cause chaos by bombing post-election protests.
On Friday, t he US embassy in Ja k a r t a i s s ue d a heig ht ene d securit y a lert for Indonesia, t he world’s biggest Muslim majorit y nation which has long wrest led wit h Islamist militancy.
Other embassies issued similar warnings.
The front of t he elections commission of f ice was ba r r icaded with ra zor wire and protected by scores of securit y personnel on Tuesday, after Subianto warned that mass demonstrations could brea k out if he lost.
The former militar y man – who has strong ties to the Suharto dictatorship which collapsed in 1998 – has unleashed a stream of rhetor ic si nce unof f icia l resu lt s for t he Apr i l 17 pol l put Widodo ahead by a wide margin.
On Tuesday, he rejected t he off icia l results, but called on supporters to remain calm as he pursued “legal avenues” – candidates have t hree days to f ile a formal complaint at Indonesia’s Constitutiona l Court.
Subianto unsuccessfully challenged the 2014 election which he a lso lost to Widodo.
Analysts and election of f icia ls discounted his fraud claims.
“The sca le of abuses and errors in t he conduct of t he election are clea rly ver y minor overa ll,” said Ja ka r ta-based pol it ica l a na lyst Kevin O’Rourke.
On Tue s d a y, t hou s a nd s of
S u b i a n t o s u p p o r t e r s ma r c h e d through the streets and held a peacef ul protest outside the election supervisor y agency’s office, as police in riot gear looked on.
“We have only one request – that the ele c t ion i s honest a nd f a i r,” s a id 35-year-old Dani Firdaus.
‘Please concede’
Chief Secu r it y Minister Wira nto warned t hat secu r it y forces would crack down on mass protests.
“I’m ca lling on a ll parties to have a big hea r t a nd be a good spor t,” he said.
“If you lost, please concede.” Widodo, 57, got a rock star welcome when he v isited a poor Ja karta neighbourhood where he formally declared v ictor y, as cheer ing residents hung out of windows to hear him speak.
“Hopef u l ly he ca n keep ma k i ng Indonesia better and more modern,” sa id resident Septa ni, who goes by one name.
T he president ia l c a mpa ig n was punct uated by bit ter mudsli ng i ng and a slew of fa ke news online, with much of it aimed at t he presidentia l candidates.
T he sof t-spoken Widodo – who poi nt e d t o h i s e f f or t s to boost Sout hea st A sia’s big gest economy wit h a huge i nf ra st r uct ure push – stood in stark contrast to fier y nationa l i st Subia nto, a st rong ma n who courted Islamic hardliners and promised a boost to militar y and defence spending.
A record 245,000 candidates ran for public of f ice in Indonesia’s elections, from the presidency and parliamenta r y seats to loca l positions – t he f irst time a ll were held on the same day.
Widodo and Amin won the countr y’s top jobs wit h 55.5 per cent of t he vote against 44.5 per cent for Subianto and his wealthy financier partner Sandiaga Uno, the commission said on Tuesday.
Some 85.6 million votes were cast in favour of Widodo out of about 154 million, it added.
Widodo scored thumping v ictories in holiday hotspot Ba li a nd heav i ly populated East Java, while Subianto la nded big wins i n rel ig iously conser vative Aceh and West Java.
Nine pa r t ies won seats i n pa rl iament, led by The Indonesian Democratic Part y of Struggle, which Widodo belong s to, a nd fol lowed by Gerindra and Golkar.