6 dead after Indonesian capital erupts in post-election violence

Fire crackers explode near supporters of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto during clashes with the police in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities have the volatile situation in the country's capital under control after six people died Wednesday in riots by supporters of his losing rival in last month's presidential election. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara) less Fire crackers explode near supporters of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto during clashes with the police in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities ... more Photo: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press Photo: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 6 dead after Indonesian capital erupts in post-election violence 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The defeated candidate in Indonesia’s presidential election is expected to challenge the result in court Thursday as calm returned to the capital following a 24-hour spasm of apparently orchestrated violence.

The campaign team of former Gen. Prabowo Subianto has alleged massive election fraud but not provided any credible evidence. It has said it will file a challenge to the Constitutional Court on Thursday.

Six people died in rioting that started Tuesday night during peaceful protests over official results that confirmed President Joko Widodo had won 55.5% of the vote in the April 17 election, securing him a second term.

Subianto, an ultra-nationalist politician who was also defeated by Widodo in 2014, has refused to accept the result and instead declared himself the winner.

The election supervisory agency earlier this week rejected Subianto’s complaint about the election’s integrity after the only evidence of fraud provided by his team was links to online articles.

The rioting in Jakarta was planned and not spontaneous, and many of the several hundred arrested had come from outside Jakarta, according to police.

Officers found an ambulance filled with stones and other weapons. Some of those arrested had envelopes containing 250,000-500,000 rupiah ($17-$34), said Jakarta police chief Argo Yuwono. The minimum wage in Jakarta is about $9 a day.

The government has deployed some 50,000 police and soldiers in Jakarta. Many residents have left the city and parts of the downtown are closed to traffic, with the election supervisory agency and Election Commission barricaded with razor wire.

Flanked by the military chief and other top leaders, grim-looking Widodo said, “I will work together with anyone to advance this country, but I will not tolerate anyone who disrupts the security, democratic processes and unity of our beloved nation.”

Subianto, an elite figure from a wealthy family connected to former dictator Suharto, also lost to Widodo in 2014. He has made four unsuccessful bids for the presidency since Suharto was ousted in 1998.

“The bottom line is the people who are protesting and rioting in the past 24 hours represent a small minority of Indonesian voters and a small minority of Indonesian Muslims,” said Alexander Arifanto, an Indonesian politics expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.