Protest Clogs Jakarta as Prabowo Disputes Jokowi's Poll Victory

(Bloomberg) -- Thousands of people rallied in Jakarta on Friday to protest the preliminary results of last month’s presidential election that show Joko Widodo has won second term as president.

The rally, held in front of the nation’s election supervisory agency, came as presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto continues to dispute the result of the April 17 vote. The government as well as independent observers have rejected the former general’s allegations of widespread voter fraud.

Prabowo, who alleged there was “blatant” cheating as well as collusion between Widodo, known as Jokowi, and election authorities, had warned of unrest earlier in the week. He stopped short of openly encouraging people to take to the streets in protest.

Military Mobilized

Thousands of police and military were mobilized Friday in anticipation of the rally, which came after Friday prayers. The protest caused traffic chaos in front of the election agency, which is on Jakarta’s main thoroughfare and close to high-end shopping malls and the central bank.

It was the largest election-related rally in Jakarta since polling day, although small in comparison to the political unrest that has flared in the capital in recent years. In 2016, hundreds of thousands of people protested in the capital in a series of mass demonstrations that targeted Jokowi’s ally, then governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.

While election authorities are yet to announce the official result of the April 17 election, the count as it stands shows Widodo with a double-digit lead, mirroring a raft of unofficial quick counts from independent pollsters. Election authorities have until May 22 to release official results.

To contact the reporter on this story: Karlis Salna in Jakarta at ksalna@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net, Iain Marlow

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