Indonesian Constitutional Court upholds presidential election results
On August 21, the Indonesian Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the results of the presidential election held last July, paving the way for Joko Widodo to become the country's next leader.
The court has rejected a last-ditch effort by defeated presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto to overturn results he said were marred by fraud.
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| Indonesian President-elect Joko Widodo. (Source: AFP) |
Chief Justice of the Indonesian Constitutional Court Hamdan Zoelva announced that all nine judges of the court rejected all complaints by candidate Subianto and the court's ruling is not appealable.
Just before the trial, thousands of protesters supporting candidate Subianto gathered nearby, trying to break through security barriers, forcing police to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.
According to officials, about 50,000 police and soldiers have been deployed to ensure security at many locations in the capital in case of riots.
Last month, Indonesia's Election Commission declared Mr. Widodo the winner after winning nearly 8.5 million votes, or more than 53% of the vote, in the closest presidential election in the Southeast Asian nation's history.
Mr. Widodo is the candidate of a five-party alliance, led by the Indonesia Democratic Party-Struggle, chaired by former President Soekarnoputri Megawati.
Meanwhile, candidate Subianto represents a seven-party alliance with the Great Indonesia Movement party, of which he is chairman.
In a speech, President-elect Widodo affirmed that he will build a new government, aiming to improve operational efficiency, enhance the position and promote agricultural and fishery production, revive traditional markets, rejuvenate the creative economy, improve access to education and quality healthcare services. Mr. Widodo is expected to take office on October 20./.
According to VNA
