Security bolstered as challenge to Indonesia vote begins

Authorities bolstered security in Indonesian capital on Friday as hearings began in a court to challenge results of April’s Presidential Election.

losing candidate former Gen. Prabowo Subianto claims re was massive electoral fraud and is asking Constitutional Court to invalidate election. court is expected to rule by June 28.

In a bizarre twist, Subianto’s claims about share of vote he won have continued to change. On Friday, his legal team said he’d won 52% of vote, down from an earlier claim of 54% and prior to that 62%.

court challenge alleges re were 17.5 million duplicated names on voter roll and that police, intelligence ncy and or state institutions were biased in favor of incumbent, Joko Widodo, but its evidence has relied heavily on printouts of news articles.

“We must uphold honesty and justice. absence of justice resulted in absence of law itself,” one of Subianto campaign’s lawyers, Bambang Widjojanto, told nine judges hearing case.

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National police Chief Tito Karnavian said 17,000 officers have been deployed. military said y were backed by 16,000 soldiers. Nine people died in what police said were orchestrated riots in Jakarta last month after official results confirmed Widodo was reelected with 55.5% of vote.

divisive election campaign highlighted Muslim-majority Indonesia’s hardening religious divide. Subianto, who allied himself with groups that want Islamic law to replace secular government, won heavily in conservative provinces but was defeated nationally by Widodo’s coalition of moderate and mirity voters.

It was Subianto’s second loss to Widodo and his fourth unsuccessful bid for presidency.

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