Indonesia’s losing candidate urges court to disqualify president-elect
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s losing presidential candidate Anies Baswedan laid out his challenge in court to last month’s election on Wednesday, March 27, alleging interference by the state and urging a rerun and disqualification of winner Prabowo Subianto.
The former Jakarta governor said the resounding victory of Defense Minister Prabowo was helped by pressure from a partisan administration on regional authorities and the mobilization of social aid as a “transactional tool” to ensure there was only one outcome.
The election, Anies said, showed that the world’s third-largest democracy was at risk of sliding back into its authoritarian past.
“If we don’t perform corrections right now, then it’ll become a precedent in the future at votes on every level,” he told the Constitutional Court.
“This practice will be perceived as normal, a habit.”
The administration of outgoing President Joko Widodo has rejected allegations it interfered in the election.
Prabowo received nearly 60% of the votes, helped by the tacit backing of hugely popular former rival Jokowi, as the president is known, promising to continue his agenda of infrastructure modernisation, jobs creation and development of downstream industries for the country’s vast mineral resources.
Anies received 25% of votes and third-placed Ganjar Pranowo took 16%. Ganjar was due to present his case in court later on Wednesday.
Call for neutrality
Challenges to election outcomes are typical in Indonesia and the court is expected to reach its decision on April 22.
The team of Anies told the court as a beneficiary of unfair practices, Prabowo should be disqualified from the ballot. Prabowo has maintained he won clearly and fairly. His legal team said on Wednesday Anies’ presentation was based on assumptions and without significant evidence.
Separately, Ganjar’s team called on the Constitutional Court to order an election re-run by June 26 at the latest that excludes Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka, alleging his last-minute inclusion for the vice president’s post on Prabowo’s ticket had unfairly influenced the vote.
Gibran was only able to run due to a sudden change of election eligibility rules by a court at which Jokowi’s brother-in-law was chief justice. The judge was reprimanded by an ethics panel for not recusing himself and intentionally allowing unspecified external “intervention” in the case.
Anies’ legal team also urged judges to order Jokowi to act with neutrality in any election re-run and refrain from mobilising state apparatus or using state budget to help one candidate.
“Was the 2024 election held freely, honestly, and justly? Anies asked the court.
“Allow us to answer: No. What happened was the opposite.”
Loyalists of Jokowi have defended him and rejected a storm of criticism that he abused his position to ensure Prabowo won as a means of preserving his legacy after a decade in charge.
Election analyst Titi Anggraini said Anies and Ganjar’s complaints about the president’s son’s role in the election could be tricky as the same court was responsible for allowing him to run.
“The people who are presiding over their case are at the center of the problems surrounding the 2024 elections,” she said. – Rappler.com