Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


              Indonesia Candidate Subianto Seeks Delay in Results

   by VOA News

   Jakarta governor Joko Widodo is expected Tuesday to be declared the
   winner of Indonesia's tightest presidential election since the end of
   authoritarian rule, yet his opponent, former General Prabowo Subianto,
   accused him of cheating and sought to delay the results.

   Most private tallies show Widodo, widely known as Jokowi, beat former
   special forces head Subianto by about five percentage points.

   More than 250,000 police officers were on duty Tuesday across the
   world's third-biggest democracy for the announcement of the results two
   weeks after the bitterly-fought poll, in which both candidates declared
   victory.

   Prabowo has refused to concede defeat, demanding the result be delayed
   by two weeks to investigate allegations of mass cheating. He is
   expected to challenge the vote in the Constitutional Court.

   While experts say a challenge could create uncertainty, they see it as
   unlikely to succeed, given Widodo looks to have won by millions of
   votes.

   "All we are asking for is time to study (the allegations). I think we
   are being reasonable," Prabowo's aide and younger brother, Hashim
   Djojohadikusumo, told Reuters.

   He wants the announcement delayed until Aug. 9 and said that there was
   evidence of enough cheating to put the outcome in his brother's favor.

   Election drama

   The election standoff has emerged as a major challenge for the world's
   most populous Muslim-majority nation 16 years after decades of
   authoritarian rule came to a chaotic end.

   The Elections Commission scheduled the announcement for 4 p.m. (0900
   GMT) after initially saying it would take place at 6 p.m..

   On Monday, the country's leader called for the eventual loser to admit
   defeat.

   President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he hopes there is sincerity
   from the candidate who finishes in second.

   He said admitting defeat is noble and congratulating the winner is
   valuable.

   "If the loser congratulates the winner sincerely, then God will grant
   glory for him," said President Yudhoyono.

   He said if a candidate refuses to accept the result, which was to be
   released Tuesday, the candidate should lodge a complaint with the
   Constitutional Court.

   There are fears the tension could spark unrest in a country that was
   hit by repeated outbreaks of violence in the years after dictator
   Suharto's downfall.

   Widodo's team has also asked supporters not to gather in public to
   celebrate an expected victory.

   With police and military on high alert, there have been no reports of
   major violence across the vast archipelago of 240 million people.

   "There are a lot of rumors of instability and unrest but cautiously I'm
   confident that it is implausible," said Tobias Basuki, a political
   analyst at the CSIS think-tank.

   Court decision

   If either candidate lodges a complaint with the Constitutional Court,
   the court must return a verdict on any challenge within two weeks and
   it cannot be appealed.

   "It is going to take a lot to push this to the Constitutional Court.
   Prabowo's camp has to prove there was massive, systemic fraud," analyst
   Basuki said.

   Election officials said reports of irregularities had been
   investigated, but the number of disputed votes is limited to thousands
   of cases.

   Analysts believe a reversal of up to 7 million votes would be needed to
   overturn Widodo's lead and hand victory to Prabowo.

   The VOA Indonesian service contributed to this report. Some information
   provided by Reuters and AFP.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/indonesia-candidate-subianto-seeks-de
   lay-in-results/1962477.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/indonesia-candidate-subianto-seeks-delay-in-results/1962477.html