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Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo to challenge election result in Constitutional Court

Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo to challenge election result in Constitutional Court
Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will challenge the official result of the election, which he lost, in the Constitutional Court.
PHOTO: AFP

Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is to challenge the official election result in the Constitutional Court, campaign team official Sufmi Dasco said on Tuesday (May 21).

Mr Prabowo lost last month's presidential election to incumbent President Joko Widodo, who secured 55.5 per cent of the public vote, the election commission's official count showed earlier on Tuesday.

The result released by the General Election Commission (KPU) confirms unofficial counts by private pollsters that showed Mr Joko winning the election.

Mr Prabowo, a retired general, has steadfastly refused to concede defeat after claiming widespread cheating.

"We decided the number two (Prabowo) ticket will lodge a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court," Mr Sufmi, the legal director of Prabowo's campaign team, told reporters.

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Earlier, a witness for the team and the leading opposition party refused to sign and validate the official results, announced more than a day earlier than expected, after the agency worked into the early hours of Tuesday.

"We won't give up in the face of this injustice, cheating, lies, and these actions against democracy," said Mr Azis Subekti, the witness.

On Monday, the election agency dismissed claims of systematic cheating, citing a lack of evidence, and independent observers and analysts have said the poll was free and fair.

It was not immediately clear if planned protests by Mr Prabowo's supporters would go ahead, but in a video ahead of the result, he urged supporters to be peaceful.

"I remind you, we must be peaceful in our struggle, we must be free from violence," Mr Prabowo said in the video, which media website Kumparan.com said it received on Tuesday.

This article was published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.

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