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Despite 'people power' rally, PAN chief to support Indonesia election winners
The Prabowo camp held the rally, which they described as “people power”, after they reported data entry errors on Situng, the General Elections Commission (KPU) vote tally website, which they claimed to be evidence election fraud, to the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).
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The Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) building on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta. (Wikimedia Commons/musnahterinjak)
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hairman of the opposition National Mandate Party (PAN), Zulkifli Hasan, appears to have broken ranks with his ally, presidential contender Prabowo Subianto, as the former asserted the need for all parties to reconcile and put the nation’s unity forward following the hard-fought election last month.
The move, which is being seen as the latest attempt to ease post-election tensions, came as Prabowo’s supporters pressed ahead on Friday with a rally accusing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s camp of election fraud after quick-count results put the incumbent on course for victory.
The Prabowo camp held the rally, which they described as “people power”, after they reported data entry errors on Situng, the General Elections Commission (KPU) vote tally website, which they claimed to be evidence election fraud, to the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).
President Jokowi and a number of state officials attended on Friday an iftar (breaking of the fast) dinner at the official residence of Zulkifli, who is also speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), during which the PAN politician spoke about post-election reconciliation.
“No matter who is elected [as president] we have to get together to ensure that his programs will be successful,” Zulkifli said in his speech, adding that political parties still had a chance to contest again in 2024, referring to the next presidential election.
The politician also said that he would not overrule the KPU and called for all parties to wait for the announcement of the election’s official results on May 22, a statement which again stood in stark contrast to Prabowo, who has declared victory multiple times since polling day on April 17.
The statement came amid rife speculation that PAN and the Democratic Party, another member of the opposition camp, might join the ruling coalition following recent talks between Jokowi and Zulkifli, as well Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, the son of Democrat patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
