Prabowo said the candidate pair decided to pull out of the election due to alleged irregularities by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

'The 2014 presidential election organized by the KPU was riddled with problems. The election process was undemocratic and went against the 1945 Constitution,' he said at Polonia House in East Jakarta, on Tuesday.

Prabowo made his address in front of a throng of local and foreign journalists, as senior politicians from his coalition parties, such as United Development Party (PPP) chairman Suryadharma Ali and Golkar Party politicians Akbar Tanjung and Aburizal Bakrie, stood behind him. However, Prabowo's running mate, Hatta Rajasa, did not appear at the event.

Prabowo presented five points highlighting irregularities in the election process. He accused the KPU of not being fair and transparent. 'They passed a lot of regulations. They themselves violated the election rules,' said Prabowo.

He further accused the commission of ignoring recommendations made by the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) concerning foul play and human error during the balloting process in many areas across the country.

Prabowo went on to say that his campaign teams had found evidence of fraud allegedly committed by election officials and other parties, thus tarnishing the election process.

He stressed that the fraud that had occurred was widespread, structured and systematic.

Prabowo said it was obvious that the KPU was attempting to deflect charges to the Constitutional Court; as if any complaint filed by his camp needed to be resolved in the court.

'In fact, the source of all of the election problems lies within the commission,' said Prabowo.

He added that the Prabowo-Hatta coalition would pull out of the ongoing process. 'We don't want to let the people's mandate be mocked and defiled,' he added. (tjs/ebf)

Popular

KUHP must be challenged

Start-up scandals in 2025 force investors to raise the bar, change playbooks

Indonesia may face rising instability in 2026: CSIS