dpa
Jakarta
More than 1,000 supporters of Indonesian opposition candidate Prabowo Subianto rallied in Jakarta on Friday after he claimed there were widespread fraud attempts during this week’s presidential election.
Unofficial counts from Wednesday’s election put incumbent President Joko Widodo on track for a second term with an eight-point lead over Prabowo.
The tally, released by independent pollsters from samples of polling stations, has been rejected by Prabowo. The opposition candidate says he won the presidency, referencing votes at more than 300,000 polling stations that showed him leading with 62 per cent.
Supporters clad in white gathered outside Prabowo’s spacious home in southern Jakarta and chanted religious songs after Friday prayers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you trust fake pollsters?” Prabowo asked the crowd, who responded in unison: "No!” Quick counts have proved accurate in predicting winners in past Indonesian elections.
Prabowo said Thursday that he had won the presidency and urged his supporters to monitor the official vote count to stop cheating.
"We are declaring our victory early because we have proof that there have been various attempts at fraud in many villages, sub-districts, districts and cities across Indonesia,” he said.
Official results will not be announced until next month. He made a similar claim of victory in 2014 after unofficial counts showed that he lost narrowly to Joko. Joko, for his part, said that he had "99 per cent” confidence in the quick count results pointing to his victory.
Indonesia’s armed forces chief, Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, warned that any unrest would be dealt with sternly. "We will not tolerate and will take stern action against attempts to disturb public order or unconstitutional acts that undermine the democratic process,” he said.
Jakarta
More than 1,000 supporters of Indonesian opposition candidate Prabowo Subianto rallied in Jakarta on Friday after he claimed there were widespread fraud attempts during this week’s presidential election.
Unofficial counts from Wednesday’s election put incumbent President Joko Widodo on track for a second term with an eight-point lead over Prabowo.
The tally, released by independent pollsters from samples of polling stations, has been rejected by Prabowo. The opposition candidate says he won the presidency, referencing votes at more than 300,000 polling stations that showed him leading with 62 per cent.
Supporters clad in white gathered outside Prabowo’s spacious home in southern Jakarta and chanted religious songs after Friday prayers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you trust fake pollsters?” Prabowo asked the crowd, who responded in unison: "No!” Quick counts have proved accurate in predicting winners in past Indonesian elections.
Prabowo said Thursday that he had won the presidency and urged his supporters to monitor the official vote count to stop cheating.
"We are declaring our victory early because we have proof that there have been various attempts at fraud in many villages, sub-districts, districts and cities across Indonesia,” he said.
Official results will not be announced until next month. He made a similar claim of victory in 2014 after unofficial counts showed that he lost narrowly to Joko. Joko, for his part, said that he had "99 per cent” confidence in the quick count results pointing to his victory.
Indonesia’s armed forces chief, Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, warned that any unrest would be dealt with sternly. "We will not tolerate and will take stern action against attempts to disturb public order or unconstitutional acts that undermine the democratic process,” he said.