Prabowo Subianto seals victory as Indonesia's next leader after a top court rejects rivals' appeals
Indonesia’s top court has rejected appeals by two losing presidential candidates who demanded a revote, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud in the February polls
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top court on Monday rejected appeals lodged by two losing presidential candidates who are demanding a revote, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud at the February polls.
The 5-to-3 majority decision by the eight-judge panel of the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments, saying the legal teams of the losing candidates had failed to prove allegations that Prabowo Subianto’s victory was the result of widespread fraud.
The Court “rejects the petitioner’s appeal entirely,” Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo said Monday, after a panel of eight judges took a marathon six hours to publicly read its reasoning in turn on both separate appeals. The verdict cannot be appealed.
The General Elections Commission, known as KPU, had certified a landslide victory for president-elect Subianto, but his rivals, former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo alleged that the victory had depended on large-scale fraud and widespread state interference.
