Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president-elect after court rejects rivals’ appeal

By NINIEK KARMINI and FADLAN SYAM
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s electoral commission has formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect in a ceremony on after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates. Subianto, who is currently defense minister, won the election with 58.6% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by either of the other two candidates, but his rivals alleged that his victory had depended on large-scale fraud and widespread state interference. Authorities blocked streets leading to the General Election Commission compound, where more than 4,200 police and soldiers were deployed during the ceremony on Wednesday.