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Joko Widodo speaks during a campaign rally in Jakarta in April. Photo: Reuters

Indonesia’s Joko Widodo wins second term as president, as elections commission releases final tally early amid fears of unrest

  • Widodo and running mate Ma’ruf Amin won by 55.5 per cent to 44.5 per cent margin over Prabowo Subianto and Sandiaga Uno
  • Commission was expected to announce official results on Wednesday but released them a day early, with little advance notice
Indonesia

Indonesian police and troops were on high alert on Tuesday amid fears of civil unrest in the capital, as the surprise early announcement of election results handed Joko Widodo another term as leader.

In an announcement made a day early, the election commission said Widodo received a 55.5 per cent share of votes, compared with 44.5 per cent for his rival Prabowo Subianto, who refused to concede.

Prabowo, a 67-year-old former general, vowed to take his claims of widespread cheating to the constitutional court as several thousand supporters rallied in Jakarta to protest Widodo’s win.

The results came as a former military commander of Indonesia’s elite special forces was detained for alleged illegal smuggling of weapons, according to police.

“[Major-General Soenarko] is being investigated for violating the Emergency Law of Republic of Indonesia No 12 1951 section 1 (1),” said police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo, referring to a law that deals with the smuggling of weapons, ammunition and explosives into Indonesia.

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Asked if the weapons were linked to the demonstrations against the election results, Dedi declined to comment.

Following Soenarko’s arrest, the current commander of Indonesia’s military special forces ordered his men to follow the line of command.

“As a professional soldier of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), every Kopassus soldier has a duty to uphold the line of command in his action and attitude,” said Major-General Nyoman Cantiasa in a statement on Twitter. “Not a single Kopassus soldier can act based on individual initiative, group, or parties outside the line of command.”

On Tuesday, Jakarta police reportedly dropped a probe against Prabowo, after it had initially announced it would investigate the presidential challenger and his ally, Eggi Sudjana.

Eggi, who is being investigated for treason, has been calling for mass protests to reject the election results.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told local media the probe against Prabowo was withdrawn, but that investigations into Eggi and another Prabowo ally, Lieus Sungkharisma, would continue.

“Prabowo is national figure who should be respected. For the moment, police are further investigating the case against Eggi and Lieus. As a result of that, there is no need for investigation [on Prabowo] yet, so [it] has been withdrawn,” Argo was quoted as saying on Detik.com.

Lieus, a spokesman for Prabowo’s campaign, was arrested on Monday on charges of treason and spreading fake news.

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Tensions have spiked in the country since police last week arrested dozens of Islamic State-linked terror suspects who planned to incite chaos by bombing post-election protests.

Prabowo has unleashed a stream of rhetoric since unofficial results for the April 17 poll put Widodo ahead by a wide margin.

The former general on Tuesday again rejected the official results, but called on supporters to remain calm as he pursued “legal avenues”. Candidates have three days to file a formal complaint at Indonesia’s Constitutional Court.

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Analysts and election officials discounted Prabowo’s fraud claims.

“The scale of abuses and errors in the conduct of the election are clearly very minor overall,” said Jakarta-based political analyst Kevin O’Rourke.

Chief Security Minister Wiranto warned that security forces would crack down on mass protests.

“I’m calling on all parties to have a big heart and be a good sport,” he said. “If you lost, please concede.”

A television debate between Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto on March 30. Photo: Reuters

Indonesian national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo over the weekend told reporters the police and military have been instructed not to carry weapons and rubber and live ammunition.

He said they would only be equipped with shields, tear gas and water cannons.

A police spokesman on Tuesday reiterated that the police and soldiers would not be armed with live bullets, telling local media that if “shooting with live bullets occur, for certain it would not be from the military and police”.

Indonesian police foil IS-linked bomb plots ahead of election result

Indonesia’s April 17 presidential campaign was punctuated by bitter mudslinging and a slew of fake news online, with much of it aimed at the presidential candidates.

The soft-spoken Widodo – who pointed to his efforts to boost Southeast Asia’s biggest economy with a huge infrastructure push – stood in stark contrast to fiery nationalist Prabowo, a strongman who courted Islamic hardliners and promised a boost to military and defence spending.

Widodo scoring thumping victories in holiday hotspot Bali and heavily populated East Java, while Prabowo landed big wins in religiously conservative Aceh and West Java.

Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Widodo wins second term as president
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