Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Widodo the Winner in Indonesia

Related: Subianto Trying to Steal Indonesian Election

"Indonesia set to declare election results"  Associated Press   July 21, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia — After a heated presidential election campaign, Indonesia is set to declare the winner on Tuesday — but that may not settle a simmering dispute between the two candidates, both of whom claim victory.

Unofficial counts by eight polling agencies of the July 9 election have given Joko Widodo, the popular former governor of Jakarta, a slim lead.

But Prabowo Subianto, a former general with a checkered human rights record who has drawn voters with his thundering nationalistic rhetoric, insists he has polling data showing he won.

The tension could threaten Indonesia’s fragile transition to democracy 16 years after it emerged from the long and brutal Suharto dictatorship. The country of 240 million is experiencing a slowing economy — the largest in Southeast Asia — and needs leadership to tackle a rapidly crumbling infrastructure.

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"Joko Widodo, populist governor, is named winner in Indonesian presidential vote" by Joe Cochrane | New York Times   July 23, 2014

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Joko Widodo, the governor of Jakarta whose common touch has made him a political phenomenon, was declared the winner of Indonesia’s presidential election on Tuesday, completing an improbable ascent from child of the slums to leader of the world’s fourth most populous nation.

I hope he has a good security detail.

But the announcement, while widely expected, did not end a simmering controversy, as his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, a retired army general, rejected the results as fraudulent and threatened to withdraw from the race.

The General Elections Commission announced that Joko, with 53 percent of the vote, had beaten Prabowo, with 47 percent. Nearly 135 million Indonesians cast ballots in the emotionally charged July 9 election, in which voters chose a new president for the first time in 10 years.

There was a huge police presence at the commission’s offices in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, on Tuesday as the vote tabulations were completed, amid rumors of violent street demonstrations by disappointed supporters of Prabowo.

As the elections commission was finishing its count and preparing to announce Joko the winner, representatives of Prabowo’s campaign staged a walkout at the commission’s office. Shortly afterward, Prabowo read an impassioned statement to supporters at his campaign headquarters saying he had withdrawn his candidacy and would reject the results.

“There has been a massive, structured, and systematic fraud,” Prabowo said.

But on Tuesday night, his brother and chief adviser, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, said Prabowo had not withdrawn his candidacy but was instead demanding time for the elections commission to investigate “serious problems” in both ballot casting and vote tabulations.

Commission officials, however, rejected his campaign’s allegations and said a candidate’s withdrawal would have no bearing on the election results.

Hashim said Prabowo’s campaign team had not yet decided whether to appeal the election results to the Indonesian Constitutional Court.

The court has the sole authority to order recounts or new voting, and its decisions are binding. But analysts said it was highly unlikely that any ruling would overturn the final national result, given the 8 million vote margin of Joko’s victory.

The announcement Tuesday was not a surprise. Hours after the polls closed July 9, the results of quick counts conducted by well-established polling firms showed Joko with a lead of 4 to 6 percentage points. Prabowo, however, pointed to other firms, trusted by his campaign but dismissed as unreliable by independent analysts, that put him ahead.

Joko has pledged to bring more “people-centric” governance and policies to Indonesia, which, despite being a member of the G-20 group of major economies, has more than 100 million people living on $2 a day or less.

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That must be a variation on the peace sign with him knowing they tried to steal the election from him. 

Here is who has been a loser all this time:

"East Timor

The tiny territory in the Indonesian archipelago suffered multiple massacres under Jakarta’s rule. It became an international cause célèbre, and its population voted decisively for independence in 1999. Indonesia tried to retain control by force, but gave up under international pressure. Since 2002, East Timor has been independent, but remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Early hopes that it would be able to exploit offshore gas have yet to materialize, and the government that emerged after three years of United Nations administration is still struggling to build infrastructure, feed the rural population, and run peaceful elections.

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Wow. Cool-looking flag. Then forget them because they are losers.