JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Supporters of losing Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto clashed with police Thursday as the country’s top judges began reading a verdict on his petition to overturn the election results.
Subianto, a former general with close links to the country’s former dictator Suharto, has alleged massive fraud in the July 9 polls and filed a complaint at the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest.
Police and legal experts said the court is highly unlikely to rule in Subianto’s favor given the nature of evidence he has presented at the court so far and the number of votes he would have to have overturned to ensure victory. The verdict cannot be appealed.
Upholding the results would remove any lingering uncertainty over the victory of Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, leaving him free to prepare to take over government in the world’s fourth most populous nation and a vital Southeast Asian economic hob. He is due to be inaugurated in October.
Subianto has vowed to challenge the results, but has struggled to attract much street support in the country of 240 million people.