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          Subianto to Challenge Widodo Victory in Indonesian Election

   by VOA News

   Former army General Prabowo Subianto, who lost Indonesia's presidential
   election, said he would challenge the result at the country's
   Constitutional Court.

   The move was announced by his spokesman on Wednesday, a day after the
   election commission named his rival, ex-Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo,
   the winner of the July 9 vote.

   Subianto said Widodo's campaign took part in large-scale vote-buying
   and other fraud and accused the election commission of not doing its
   duty in investigating the claims.

   The court challenge could take weeks to complete and may prove
   unsuccessful. Many analysts said the fraud claims are exaggerated and
   would not likely make up for a six-point difference in the final
   results.

   President-elect

   Speaking Tuesday after the official results were released,
   President-elect Widodo, who won 53 percent of the vote, said now is the
   time for the country to come together after a hard fought campaign.

   "I am certain that the struggle to achieve Indonesia that is sovereign,
   independent and true to our character - can only be achieved if we work
   together. And now it is the time to work together," Widodo said.

   Indonesia had deployed police and military forces in case of unrest,
   but there have been no reports of violence.

   U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement congratulating
   Widodo and saying Washington looks forward to working with the new
   Indonesian president.

   The 53-year-old Widodo, also known by his nickname Jokowi, is seen by
   many as a reformer and a rare candidate without links to Indonesia's
   longtime dictator, Suharto, who was ousted in 1998 and died 10 years
   later.

   Shaun Levine, a senior analyst for South East Asia at the Eurasia
   Group, said  Widodo's outsider status would help increase the field of
   candidates in future elections.

   "For Joko Widodo to the win the election by the margin that he did, in
   the sense that going forward that you will have more of an opportunity
   for political outsiders to join in the elections and become a member of
   parliament president, is very positive for Indonesia," Levine said.

   Nationalist campaign

   Subianto, a former son-in-law of Suharto, campaigned on a strong
   nationalist platform.

   Many were concerned he would steer the country in an authoritarian
   direction. He was accused of rights abuses, including overseeing the
   arrest of democracy activists, during his time as an army general.

   Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country, with 250 million
   residents, and Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

   This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Indonesian
   service.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/subianto-to-challenge-widodo-victory-
   in-indonesial-election/1963292.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/subianto-to-challenge-widodo-victory-in-indonesial-election/1963292.html