Indonesia’s opposition threatens to wage street protests over irregularities in election rolls
- The opposition found anomalies in voter rolls, such as errors in dates of birth, or duplicate identity card numbers, affecting about 9 per cent of voters
- There is a “clear possibility” the opposition could go to the constitutional court unless it obtained satisfactory answers from the election commission, said the media director for the opposition campaign
The world’s third-biggest democracy holds elections on April 17, with the incumbent, President Joko Widodo, now enjoying a double-digit lead in most opinion polls over his challenger, retired general Prabowo Subianto.
But the opposition is dissatisfied with the response by the election commission (KPU) after it found anomalies, such as errors in dates of birth, or duplicate identity card numbers, affecting 17.5 million people, or about 9 per cent of the 192 million voters, an opposition official said.
“We will continue to demand our right, as one of the contestants in this election, that this be resolved as quickly as possible,” Hashim Djojohadikusumo, media director for the opposition campaign, told a news conference.
If not settled, such issues could raise questions over the legitimacy of the vote, he said, citing a chaotic recent election in neighbouring Thailand that provoked criticism of how authorities ran the poll and accusations of manipulated results.
There was a “clear possibility” the opposition could go to the constitutional court unless it obtained satisfactory answers, he said, adding that if fraud was proved then “people power” street protests could also be a legitimate response.