• Burmese
Friday, July 18, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
29 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

In Contested Election, Indonesia’s Democracy on the Line

The Irrawaddy by The Irrawaddy
July 14, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0 0
A A
In Contested Election

An Indonesian woman holds her ballot as she walks to vote at Bojong Koneng polling station in Bogor July 9

2.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s young democracy faces its biggest challenge since emerging from decades of autocratic rule 16 years ago after both candidates claimed victory in last week’s presidential election.

It will be up to two key institutions, both with bruised reputations, to decide which of the two men who contested the July 9 poll has the right to move into the white-pillared presidential palace in central Jakarta and lead the world’s third biggest democracy for the next five years.

The first will be the Elections Commission, hit by graft charges in the past, and which is now in the process of checking the vote count before it announces the final result by July 22.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

July 18, 2025
80
Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

July 18, 2025
64
Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

July 18, 2025
119

The camps of the rival candidates—Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and former general Prabowo Subianto—have made none-too-subtle suggestions that the other might cheat in the time it takes to declare the official result.

Despite the tensions, there has been no violence, although that is a worry. Hundreds of people were killed in violence that swept the vast archipelago when ironman ruler Suharto was ousted in 1998 after over three decades in office and a shaky but functioning democracy put in his place.

No presidential election, and this is only the third through direct voting, has been so close, or so bitter, since Indonesia declared independence in 1945. But officials and poll observers say it is not easy to cheat, given the institutional safeguards that have been built in.

“At the [village] level, that is the place where you can exercise the most effective fraud. It’s not easy because you have prominent pollsters saying what the result is,” one international election observer said, noting that there are five levels of vote tabulation from the village to national level. He declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Quick vote counts by private groups, which have proven very accurate in the past, put Jokowi ahead by around five points against Prabowo, although the former special forces general has rejected the tallies.

“What’s clear is that seven credible pollsters have released their quick count results. That can be [used]…Even though it’s not official,” Jokowi told Reuters.

Prabowo’s camp says those pollsters deliberately skewed the quick count in favor of Jokowi and that its own counts put Prabowo just ahead.

Based on the counts, which provide a sampling of the roughly 130 million votes cast, analysts estimated the losing side would need to fraudulently reverse 6.5 million or more votes to come out on top.

“You would have to mass manufacture votes at the village level which is hard because of the amount of scrutiny there is,” the election observer said.

Votes are counted on election day in public and in daylight.

Elections Commission

Overseeing that process is the Elections Commission (KPU), which has had brushes with graft scandals in the past but which is now see as clean enough to come up with a valid result.

“The KPU is the best we’ve had,” said Asia Foundation’s Indonesia head, Sandra Hamid, adding that the openness of voting data made it very hard to fiddle with the result.

Transparency International Indonesia too doubted the KPU result would be subject to fraud.

“A lot of the mistakes of the Elections Commission has been related to capacity and administrative work that has been sloppy rather than by design wanting to subvert the system. I don’t think anyone in the commission would want to do that.” the group’s chairwoman, Natalia Soebagjo, said.

Outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has told both candidates to keep their supporters off the streets.

Calm has been encouraged by placing about 250,000 police on alert across the archipelago and by the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan in a country that is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.

Constitutional Court

Once the result is out, the losing side is likely to launch a challenge in the Constitutional Court which has final say over contested elections and is the other key institution that is in the spotlight.

But the court’s reputation is in tatters after its last head was sentenced this month to life in jail for corruption which some analysts said was probably enough to ensure that this time it would go out of its way to look squeaky clean.

“If it wants to restore its credibility, it must ensure that once a dispute does arise it handles it properly and [judges] … forget their political affiliations because many of those in the court right now have past political affiliations,” said Transparency’s Soebagjo.

Asked if Prabowo might appeal to the Court, his brother told Reuters: “Yes, we’re keeping that option open. Potentially this could go on…for several weeks anyway.”

The court’s new chief justice, Hamdan Zoelva, said it was ready for any challenges.

“I hope there will be no need to bring the election result to the Constitutional Court,” he told Reuters. “If it is brought to us…the court will aim for a unanimous decision. But if that is impossible to reach, then they will have to settle with a majority ruling.

“We will, to our utmost, independently and professionally treat every party equally. We will carefully and thoroughly resolve the case. That is all we can do.”

The candidates have 72 hours after the official result to lodge a complaint with the Court. A decision, which cannot be appealed, much be reached by a panel of nine judges within 14 days.

Zoelva’s appointment has come under criticism over his past as a politician. The party he belonged to supports Prabowo. An earlier and popular head of the Court, Mahfud MD, is a prominent member of Prabowo’s team.

But the lawyer who would represent the Jokowi camp in any election case in the Constitutional Court, called the MK, said he was confident its verdicts would be neutral.

“This is the time for the MK to prove to the people that they are a credible court. I don’t think they will disappoint. [Former chief justice] Mahfud MD may have influence but the future of the nation, the accountability to the people, the due process of law is far more important than loyalty to the former chief justice,” said Todung Mulya Lubis.

“The stakes are too high.”

Additional reporting by Reuters reporters Dennys Kapa, Randy Fabi and Jonathan Thatcher.

Your Thoughts …
The Irrawaddy

The Irrawaddy

...

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
90.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Off the Leash

Off the Leash, But Still Muzzled

Thai Junta’s Pledge to Send Back Burmese Refugees Sparks Concern

Thai Junta’s Pledge to Send Back Burmese Refugees Sparks Concern

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

3 days ago
1.4k
Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

1 day ago
1.2k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karen Fighters Push for Myanmar Junta Outpost on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Belarus Universities Teach Myanmar Junta How to Kill: JFM

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.