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Will Indonesia’s Prabowo face pre-election fraud investigation – or could party jockeying save him?
- Lawmakers could vote on whether to start an investigation into alleged irregularities in the run-up to last month’s election won by Prabowo Subianto
- Such an inquiry could look at the neutrality of the security forces and distribution of politically motivated social aid, an analyst says
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While Indonesia’s official election results are expected to confirm Prabowo Subianto as president-elect later this month, the parties supporting his rival candidates have called for a legislative investigation into alleged election irregularities.
Observers anticipate that a vote on the inquiry could take place on Tuesday when lawmakers in Indonesia’s House of Representatives are scheduled to conclude their recess and resume their legislative activities.
Analysts are unsure how many parties plan to press on with the inquiry, particularly when some of them are trying to align themselves with Prabowo as he assembles his ruling coalition.
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According to the unofficial quick count results of the February 14 vote, Defence Minister Prabowo earned nearly 60 per cent of the vote, a significant lead over the other two candidates: former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo.
Prabowo’s success in the election has largely been attributed to the tacit support he received from highly popular outgoing President Joko Widodo after the former military general tapped Widodo’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate.
As the official election results are scheduled to be announced on March 20, calls have mounted for an investigation into supposed election fraud, fuelled by allegations of voter intimidation as well as the misuse of government resources to garner support for Prabowo.
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