Jakarta governor Joko Widodo will become Indonesia’s next president after a court rejected his challenger’s allegations of fraud, ending the most divisive leadership contest since the country’s return to democracy.
The constitutional court upheld Mr Widodo's 8.4-million-vote victory over Suharto-era general Prabowo Subianto in last month's election, finding in a 4,300-page verdict delivered yesterday that there was no evidence to support claims of structured, massive and systematic fraud. While the verdict was being read, police had to fire tear gas to keep Mr Prabowo's supporters away from the courthouse.
Indonesian president-elect Joko Widodo (L) accompanied by his vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla speaks to journalists during a press conference at his residence in Jakarta Aug 21. Indonesia's Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a challenge brought by defeated candidate Prabowo Subianto in last month's presidential election. The Electoral Commission declared Jakarta governor Widodo as the winner of the July 9 election, with 53.1% of the vote to 46.9%. (EPA photo)
"Let's put away differences in political choice during the election to take part in realizing our ideals as a great nation," Mr Widodo, known as Jokowi, said on his Facebook page after the decision. "The unity of the people and helping each other will be the new power to rebuild an Indonesia that is politically sovereign, economically independent, and has personality in its culture."
The ruling will allow 53-year-old Jokowi to move forward with preparations to take over the presidency in October and boost an economy that grew in the second quarter at its slowest pace since 2009. The owner of a furniture business who entered politics for the first time in 2005 will also need to find a way to reunite a fractured electorate in the world's third-largest democracy and build on his coalition's minority in parliament.
'Green Light'
"Apart from Mr Prabowo, Indonesia accepted the result of the election nearly a month ago," said Paul Rowland, a Jakarta- based political analyst and former country director for advocacy group the National Democratic Institute. "Now, President-elect Joko Widodo has the green light to go ahead with planning the transition, selecting a cabinet and getting down to the business of fixing the economy and implementing an ambitious program that aspires to reform major Indonesian institutions."
The rupiah rose 0.3% by 9.20am in Jakarta, according to prices from local banks, taking gains for the year to 4.4%, the most among major Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The Jakarta Composite Index traded 0.2% lower, after erasing early gains toward a record high. Foreign money managers have put more than $4.8 billion into Indonesian shares since December, on optimism Jokowi will replicate nationally the success he had in Jakarta in cutting red tape and kick-starting infrastructure development.
Water Cannons
Before the ruling, almost 30,000 police were deployed across Jakarta, where they fired tear gas and water cannons when Mr Prabowo's supporters threw rocks and tried to break through their barricade of the courthouse. Crowds thinned as the reading of the verdict ran into the evening and streets in central Jakarta were calm today. The front page headline of the English-language newspaper Jakarta Post, which declared support for Jokowi before the election, read: "Game over, Mr Prabowo!".
Supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto rally in front of a police blockade outside the Constitutional Court in Jakarta Aug 21. Mr Prabowo had asked Indonesia's highest court to overturn the recent election result, saying the vote was tainted by mass fraud but the court upheld last month's hotly contested presidential election, paving the way for Joko Widodo to take over as leader of the world's third-largest democracy. (Reuters photo)
Ensuring a peaceful transfer of power is crucial for Indonesia as it seeks to assure investors the nation's closest election since Suharto's fall in 1998 after 31 years in power won't erode economic progress. One of Jokowi's first challenges will be to assess a 2015 budget from the outgoing government that includes $31 billion of spending on energy subsidies, which will act as a drag on his ability to fund infrastructure.
Jokowi has said he will prioritize programs in health and education and gradually cut subsidies to give policy makers more fiscal room.
Special Forces
Jokowi, buoyed by his everyman image and middle-class background, appealed to voters looking for a more liberal democracy, while Mr Prabowo, 62, with his special-forces experience and ties to Suharto, was the choice of those nostalgic for a leader who projects strength. Mr Prabowo is a former son-in-law of the late Indonesian dictator.
Mr Prabowo had questioned procedures at about 59,000 polling stations and was seeking revotes in as many as six provinces. The court's ruling went against Mr Prabowo from the start, striking down his allegation that votes had been changed and finding that election officials' early opening of some ballot boxes was done in a transparent way.
"Prabowo-Hatta are human so they are disappointed, but both of them respect the decision by the Constitutional Court, which is final and binding," Tantowi Yahya, a spokesman for Mr Prabowo and his running mate Hatta Rajasa, said after the verdict yesterday. Mr Prabowo did not make a public appearance.
A view inside the Constitusional Court room ahead of the verdict on the appeal of losing Prabowo in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug 21. Indonesia's Constitutional Court ruled on a challenge to the conduct of last month's presidential election brought by losing candidate Prabowo Subianto. More than 2,000 armed police and soldiers in anti-riot gear were deployed around the Constitutional Court in the heart of the capital. (EPA photo)
There were some election violations in the eastern Papua region, yet these did not affect the vote result, said judge Anwar Usman. There had been pressure on the court to deliver a verdict rooted in the law, since it has previously been tainted by corruption allegations involving lower-level elections cases.
'Well-Reasoned Verdict'
"The constitutional court has passed a test of credibility following doubts that emerged after the former chief justice was sentenced to life in prison for soliciting bribes," Rowland said. "It is a well-reasoned verdict."
Indonesia must guard its democratic process, outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in a speech last week, having previously warned the political situation could "boil" should the loser refuse to accept defeat.
If the verdict went against Mr Prabowo, he would concede and then "harass" the government with an active parliamentary opposition, his brother and economic adviser Hashim Djojohadikusumo said in an interview on July 25. Mr Prabowo's coalition will play a balancing role and will partner the government if its programs benefit the people, spokesman Yahya said.
His coalition remains solid, said Idrus Marham, secretary- general of Golkar, the largest party within Mr Prabowo's grouping.
The court's verdict will strengthen Jokowi's hand, said Marcus Mietzner, associate professor at Canberra's Australian National University. Some of the ex-general's allies are already seeking to switch sides to join the government.
"More parties will approach Jokowi," Mr Mietzner, author of Money, Power and Ideology: Political Parties in Post-Authoritarian Indonesia, said in Jakarta.