Prabowo Subianto, ex-general tied to a past dictatorship, is confirmed as Indonesia’s next president

By Niniek Karmini, The Associated Press on March 20, 2024.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Prabowo Subianto, a former special forces general with ties to Indonesia’s current president and past dictatorship, was confirmed the victor of last month’s presidential election over two former governors who have vowed to contest the result in court.

Subianto won 58.6% of the votes, while former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan received 24.9% and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo got 16.5%, the General Election Commission said Wednesday after the official counting was completed.

In Indonesia, election disputes can be registered with the Constitutional Court during the three days that follow the announcement of official results.

The two other candidates have alleged fraud and irregularities in the election process, such as the vice presidential candidacy of President Joko Widodo’s son. The popular outgoing president is serving his second term and could not run again, but his son’s candidacy is seen as a sign of his tacit backing for Subianto.

Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is 37 but became Subianto’s running mate after the Constitutional Court made an exception to the minimum age requirement of 40 for candidates. The Constitutional Court’s chief justice, who is Widodo’s brother-in-law, was then removed by an ethics panel for failing to recuse himself and for making last-minute changes to the election candidacy requirements.

Subianto, who is Widodo’s defense minister, had claimed victory on election day after unofficial tallies showed he was winning nearly 60% of the votes.

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