Election Commission of Indonesia has been officially announced prabowo subianto He was elected President after the country’s Supreme Court rejected challenges to his landslide victory filed by two defeated presidential candidates. Subianto, who currently serves as defense minister, won 58.6% of the vote, equivalent to more than 96 million ballots, more than double the number received by his rivals.
However, Subianto’s victory was not without controversy, as his opponents alleged widespread fraud and state interference in the electoral process. Authorities deployed more than 4,200 police and soldiers to maintain order during the announcement ceremony held at the General Election Commission complex.
Call for unity and cooperation
During the ceremony, which was attended by the country’s political elite, including rival candidate Anees Baswedan and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar, Subianto called for unity and cooperation among political leaders. “The race is over…the fierce competition, sometimes accompanied by heated debate, is over,” he said. And now our people demand that political leaders should work together for the welfare of the people and to eliminate poverty and corruption in Indonesia.
Legal challenges and Constitutional Court decisions
The General Elections Commission certified the election results on 20 March, but the formal announcement ceremony was delayed due to legal challenges from rival candidates Anees Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo. They demanded the annulment of the results and a re-poll, alleging nepotism and challenging the candidacy of Subianto’s running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of outgoing President Joko Widodo.
In a 5-to-3 decision, the Constitutional Court rejected arguments that the losing candidates’ legal teams had failed to prove allegations of widespread fraud. The decision could not be appealed, and both Baswedan and Pranovo accepted it and congratulated Subianto and Raaka, expressing their commitment to a peaceful transfer of power.
Subianto’s controversial past
Prabowo Subianto, a longtime commander in Indonesia’s Kopassus special forces, was discharged from the army in 1998 after Kopassus soldiers tortured activists who opposed his father-in-law, dictator Suharto. Although he denies any involvement, several of his men were prosecuted and convicted.
Subianto went into self-exile in Jordan before returning in 2008 and founding the Gerindra Party. He has previously worked closely with radical Islamists to weaken his opponents and made three unsuccessful bids for the presidency, challenging his defeat to Widodo in 2019. Due to which violence broke out and nine people lost their lives in Jakarta.
