Joko Widodo ‘Jokowi’ Officially Wins Indonesia’s Presidential Election
On Tuesday evening (22/07), the General Elections Commission (KPU) officially declared Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, the winner of the 2014 presidential election. Jokowi beat Prabowo Subianto, a controversial former army general, by 53.15 to 46.85 percent. Subianto did not witness the announcement. Several hours earlier, when news started to spread about a Jokowi win, Subianto announced to withdraw from the vote-counting process. He will challenge the result in the country's Constitutional Court (the ruling is expected in late August).
According to Subianto, the KPU’s election result is not valid as violations (fraud) took place at thousands of polling stations on the Election Day (9 July 2014). However, based on Indonesian law, a presidential candidate that withdraws from the race is not entitled to challenge the election result at the Constitutional Court. Therefore, the Subianto camp have tried to row back Subianto’s earlier statements concerning his withdrawal. Meanwhile, media reports surfaced that claim that Hatta Rajasa, the running mate of Subianto, has accepted the KPU’s final result; a sign of division in the Subianto camp. Earlier on the day, when the defeat of Subianto became known, other members of the team had already resigned (for example former Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D)
There have been no reports of any riots or social unrest.