Indonesia presidential candidate Anies seeks election rerun as losers decry ‘meddling’

JAKARTA, Indonesia – The legal team of Indonesian losing presidential candidate Anies Baswedan called on the Constitutional Court on Thursday, March 21, to order an election rerun that excludes President Joko Widodo’s son, alleging his last-minute inclusion for the vice president’s post unfairly swayed the vote.

The call came just hours after official election results late on Wednesday showed a thumping victory for defense minister and ex-special forces commander Prabowo Subianto, who won almost 60% of the vote, buoyed by the tacit backing of the hugely popular Widodo, better known as Jokowi.

Former Jakarta governor Anies, who took 25% of votes, filed the case with the court on Thursday and rival Ganjar Pranowo, who won 16%, said he too would contest the result in the same court. Such challenges are commonplace in Indonesia’s elections.

The legal team of Anies said Prabowo’s victory had come as a result of interference by the administration.

A decision last year by the Constitutional Court to change eligibility rulesallowed Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to become Prabowo’s running mate.

“We requested a voting rerun without that vice-presidential candidate so there will be no more meddling,” a lawyer for Anies, Ari Yusuf Amir, told reporters.

Contentious ruling

The Constitutional Court ruling was highly controversial, as the court’s chief justice at the time, Anwar Usman, is Jokowi’s brother-in-law and was later reprimanded by an ethics panel for failing to recuse himself. Anwar is still on the bench but is barred from taking part in any election disputes.

Allies of the president have denied he interfered in the decision. A spokesperson for the president’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment on the call for an election re-run.

Prabowo, a fiery-tempered military man turned Tik Tok sensation, swept the election at his third attempt at the top job, appealing to young voters, buoyed by the implied endorsement of former rival Jokowi and his promise of continuity of his policies.

Responding to the results on Wednesday, Prabowo thanked his supporters, and Jokowi, and pledged to be a leader for all Indonesians. His team has said it has more than 30 lawyers ready to face any legal challenges.

Mahfud MD, the running mate of third-placed Ganjar, said on Thursday the Feb. 14 vote was “the most brutal” since Indonesia started holding direct presidential elections two decades ago, due to meddling by state officials.

The team of Anies has refused to concede.

“From the start the process has been problematic and that has led to extraordinary problems,” lawyer Ari said. “Because the vice presidential candidate is the son of a president, that has carried a tremendous impact.”

“Let’s fight honestly, fairly and freely,” he added.

Anies’ team also alleged widespread allocation of social assistance to influence voting, presenting stacks of paperwork to the court that they said contained evidence of the mobilisation of state agencies and officials to swing the election in favour of Prabowo.

The government has previously rejected such claims.

Ganjar said the challenge was necessary to “restore the credibility of our democracy”.

Anies said the electoral process was as important as the result, and his case sought to ensure democracy was protected and upheld.

“There were many problems and we want those corrected so they are not repeated,” he said. – Rappler.com