On Thursday 27th June, the Indonesian Constitutional Court confirmed victory for the incumbent Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his running mate, Ma’ruf Amin during the 17th April presidential election.
The pair had been accused of fraud and cheating by rival Prabowo Subianto.
The official results, which were released in May, showed that Jokowi had won with 55 per cent of votes, while Prabowo garnered 45 per cent. A panel of nine judges had upheld the official results released by the General Elections Commission (KPU). They confirmed that Jokowi is set to lead the nation for a second term.
The judges revealed that Prabowo’s camp failed to prove the so-called massive cheating allegations they say were committed by Jokowi’s camp. Their legal demands have therefore been rejected in their entirety.
“The plaintiff’s case is legally groundless,” said Chief Justice Anwar Usman. The court judged that Prabowo’s accusations of vote-buying and biased civil servants favouring Jokowi have been baseless. The credibility of Prabowo’s witnesses have also been questioned.
Meanwhile, Prabowo claims that he will accept the “very disappointing decision”. He has urged his supporters to dutifully obey the 1945 constitution and to stay calm.
Source: Channel News Asia
Image: Analis News