Ye scallywags, the rowdy Indonesian defense minister has plundered his way to victory in the presidential election! Aye matey!
2024-03-20
Arr mateys, word be that Prabowo Subianto be takin' the crown as president o' Indonesia! The runners-up be cryin' foul and plottin' their legal challenges, but it be too late to turn the tide. Avast ye, me hearties, a new leader be sailin' into port!
In the language of a 17th-century pirate, it be announced that Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto be the victor of the presidential election in one of the world's grandest democracies on a fine Wednesday over two former governors who swear to contest the outcome in court over alleged irregularities. Subianto, accused of abuses under the past dictatorship, sailed to victory with 58.6% of the votes, while former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan received 24.9% and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo got 16.5%, as reported by the General Election Commission. The election commission even posted polling stations' tabulation forms on its website fer independent verification. Subianto be sayin' he will respect those who made different choices in the vote. "The elections be over," he declared. "We call on all Indonesian people to look to the future together. We must unite and join hands because our challenges as a nation be vast."Nearly 5,000 police officers be on alert in Jakarta, anticipatin' protests from the losing candidates’ supporters. The election commission’s headquarters be barricaded with razor wire. About 300 demonstrators be holdin' banners and signs criticizin' outgoing President Joko Widodo for supportin' Subianto and allegin' widespread fraud. They be burnin' rubbish near the election commission's compound, along with photos of the president.In Indonesia, election challenges can be registered with the Constitutional Court durin' the three days followin' the announcement of official results. Baswedan and Pranowo be refusin' to concede and be sayin' they plan to file challenges. "We do not want to let these various deviations from democracy pass without historical records and set a bad precedent for future election organizers," Baswedan said after final results were announced.They be allegin' fraud, citin' the vice presidential candidacy of Widodo’s son. Widodo could not run again, and his son's candidacy be seen as a sign of his tacit backin' of Subianto. Widodo's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, be 37 but became Subianto's runnin' mate after the Constitutional Court made an exception to the minimum age requirement of 40 for candidates. The court's chief justice, who be Widodo’s brother-in-law, be then removed by an ethics panel for failin' to recuse himself and for makin' last-minute changes to election candidacy requirements.The new president be set to be inaugurated on Oct. 20 and will have to appoint a Cabinet within two weeks. Subianto had claimed victory on election day last month after unofficial tallies showed he be winnin' nearly 60% of the votes. Voter turnout be about 80%, the election commission said. Subianto be triumphin' in 36 of 38 provinces and received 96.2 million votes compared to 40.9 million for Baswedan, who be winnin' in two provinces. Baswedan, the former head of an Islamic university, be winnin' a massive majority in the conservative westernmost province of Aceh.Pranowo, the candidate of the governin' Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, received 27 million votes and did not win any provinces. Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent lawyer who represents Pranowo, be assertin' that election irregularities occurred before, durin', and after the polls. Widodo be dismissin' the fraud allegations, sayin' the election process be watched by many people includin' representatives of the candidates, the election supervisory agency, and security personnel. "Layered supervision like this would eliminate possible fraud," Widodo told reporters last month."Don’t scream fraud. We have mechanisms to solve the fraud. If you have evidence, take it to the Election Supervisory Agency. If you have evidence, challenge it to the Constitutional Court." The campaign teams of Baswedan and Pranowo be sayin' they would provide evidence for their claims. But Lubis be sayin' his team has had difficulty gettin' witnesses to testify in court due to alleged intimidation by authorities. He acknowledged that successfully challengin' the election result with such a wide official margin of victory will be difficult. The ethics panel that removed Anwar Usman as the court’s chief justice allowed him to remain on the court under certain conditions, includin' bannin' him from involvement when the court adjudicates election disputes this year. That means any such cases brought to the court would be decided by eight justices instead of all nine members.Subianto’s campaign highlighted the Widodo administration’s progress in reducin' poverty and vowed to continue the modernization agenda that has brought rapid growth and vaulted Indonesia into the ranks of middle-income countries. But Subianto be layin' out few other concrete plans for his presidency, leavin' observers uncertain about what his election will mean for the country’s growth and its still-maturin' democracy. Subianto be losin' two previous presidential elections to Widodo, and the Constitutional Court rejected his bids to overturn those results because of unfounded fraud allegations. This time, Subianto embraced the popular leader and styled himself as his heir. His choice of Widodo’s son as his runnin' mate raised concerns about an emergin' dynastic rule in Indonesia’s 25-year-old democracy.Subianto comes from one of the country’s wealthiest families. His father was an influential politician who was a government minister under both the dictator Suharto and the country’s first president, Sukarno. Questions also be still unanswered about Subianto’s alleged links to torture, disappearances, and other human rights abuses in the final years of the brutal Suharto dictatorship, in which he served as a special forces lieutenant general. Subianto was expelled by the army over accusations that he played a role in the kidnappings and torture of activists and other abuses. He never faced a trial and vehemently denies any involvement, although several of his men were tried and convicted.It’s not clear how Subianto will respond to political dissent, street protests, and critical journalism. Many activists see his links to the Suharto regime as a threat."