Indonesian opposition demands that court annuls election

Indonesian opposition demands that court annuls election

JAKARTA-(MaraviPost)- The legal team of Indonesia’s opposition leader on Friday demanded the annulment of the April general elections due to alleged irregularities.

Thousands of police officers were deployed to guard Jakarta’s Constitutional Court where on Friday morning a hearing began into the opposition’s complaints.

President Joko Widodo was declared the poll winner with 55.5% of the votes, but former military general Prabowo Subianto has claimed he won the elections but was denied victory through electoral fraud.

According to Reuters  Constitutional Court Chief Justice Anwar Usman said in a televised speech that the court would not succumb to anyone, was not afraid of anyone and would not be influenced by anyone.

He added that the judges’ only duty was towards the constitution as per their oath of office.

The head of Prabowo’s legal team, Bambang Widjojanto, presented arguments including that of the incompatibility of the vice-presidential candidature of Widodo’s running-mate, cleric Maruf Amin, who held posts in two government banking institutions during the same period.

This is the second time that Prabowo has challenged election results in the court, having lost a similar appeal after losing to Widodo in the 2014 elections.

The hearings are set to end on Jun. 24 and the deadline for the verdict has been set for Jun. 28.

Lloyd M’bwana

I’m a Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resource (LUANAR)’s Environmental Science graduate (Malawi) and UK’s ICM Journalism and Media studies scholar. Also University of Malawi (UNIMA) Library Science Scholar. I have been The Malawi Country Manager and duty editor for the Maravi Post since 2019. My duty editor’s job is to ensure that the news is covered properly, that it is delivered on time, and that it is created to the standards set out in the editorial guidelines of the Maravi Post.