Prabowo Subianto seals victory as Indonesia’s next leader after a top court rejects rivals’ appeals

By NINIEK KARMINI and FADLAN SYAM
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top court has rejected appeals by two losing presidential candidates who demanded a revote, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud in the February polls. The General Elections Commission had certified a landslide victory for president-elect Prabowo Subianto, but his two rivals alleged that the victory had depended on large-scale fraud and abuse of power. They also alleged nepotism, challenging the candidacy of outgoing President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as Subianto’s running mate. In a 5-to-3 majority decision, the court rejected all their claims. The ruling cannot be appealed. Subianto won the election with 58.6% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the number received by each of his rivals.