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Jokowi warns against vote rigging as tallying begins

JAKARTA — With Wednesday’s presidential election failing to produce a clear winner, front-runner Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has warned against tampering of the ballot, while the Election Commission tallies votes before announcing the official results in two weeks.

Mr Widodo’s supporters taped a message with the words ‘Jokowi our President’ on a Jakarta road, despite 
his calls for them to stand down on Wednesday night. Photo: AP

Mr Widodo’s supporters taped a message with the words ‘Jokowi our President’ on a Jakarta road, despite
his calls for them to stand down on Wednesday night. Photo: AP

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JAKARTA — With Wednesday’s presidential election failing to produce a clear winner, front-runner Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has warned against tampering of the ballot, while the Election Commission tallies votes before announcing the official results in two weeks.

Both Mr Widodo and rival candidate Prabowo Subianto claimed victory in Indonesia’s closest presidential contest, citing different unofficial quick vote counts conducted by private agencies that have accurately forecast past election results. The apparent deadlock has raised fears of political instability in the world’s most populous Muslim nation and South-east Asia’s biggest economy.

In a brief press conference yesterday afternoon, Mr Widodo warned of possible tampering of the votes cast.

“The task for all of us now is to safeguard the results of the election, until the official result by KPU (Election Commission),” he said.

“We have to ensure that counting at the KPU goes on with truth, cleanliness and without intervention by any party. I call on parties not to taint the sincerity of Indonesian citizens in voicing their choice in the election.”

Some analysts say in a country plagued by corruption, tactics such as bribery and intimidation could be used to sully the official count of more than 140 million ballots that must be transported to regional centres, often from remote areas scattered across Indonesia’s archipelago.

Jakarta-based political analyst Paul Rowland said the Jokowi camp is clearly worried there will be fraud in the aggregation process. “There are plenty of opportunities there to change the numbers,” he added.

The Election Commission, which has begun tallying the votes, will announce the official results by July 22. But if either candidate refutes the outcome due to evidence of fraud or other voting irregularities, the case will go to the Constitutional Court. The judges have two weeks to make a ruling after receiving complaints.

Mr Prabowo has accused his opponent of jumping the gun by claiming victory before the final count. Speaking to foreign reporters, his tycoon brother and chief political aide Hashim Djojohadikusumo accused the Jokowi camp of being “highly irresponsible and highly provocative” in announcing victory so soon after polls closed.

“We feel democracy is in serious, serious danger of being hijacked by the other side,” he said, adding he was also worried about possible violence and cheating during the official vote count.

Both candidates met separately in private meetings with outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday night. Mr Widodo emerged afterwards to urge supporters, who were setting off fireworks, waving flags and riding motorbikes around the heart of the capital, to stand down.

“We need to minimise friction that could arise,” he said.

Mr Yudhoyono had urged both candidates to keep their supporters in check during the agonising wait for the official result.

Jakarta’s police chief yesterday warned supporters from both sides that any public celebrations in the capital would result in arrests and that patrols would be increased. “We will not hesitate to take firm action,” said Major-General Dwi Priyatno. He added that security forces were working with both camps “to anticipate everything that could cause friction among people and lead to massive rash acts.”

Streets in Jakarta remained calm yesterday. About 250,000 security personnel are on alert across the world’s fourth-most populous nation, but there were no reports of violence.

ASEAN Studies Program coordinator at the Habibie Center, Mr A Ibrahim Almuttaqi, said Mr Yudhoyono deserves some praise for meeting the two candidates and trying to keep tensions down.

Senior risk analyst at Jakarta-based Concord Consulting, Mr Keith Loveard, said those likely to cause problems are fanatical supporters of the two candidates. “There are enough of them on both sides to make it extremely difficult to see how this impasse can be resolved without some degree of lasting animosity,” he said.

The election has energised the country of 240 million. Turnout was estimated around 75 per cent in a race polarised by two very different figures.

Mr Widodo, 53, is a former furniture exporter from humble beginnings who has built a reputation of being an efficient leader, getting elected to run the capital in 2012.

Mr Prabowo, 62, is from a wealthy, well-known family and is accused of human rights violations, including ordering the kidnapping of pro-democracy activists before Suharto’s fall. He surged forward in the polls just weeks before the election after picking up endorsements from most of the country’s major political parties and running a well-oiled campaign. WITH AGENCIES

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