The Latest: Police chief says 6 reported dead in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Latest on post-election protests in Indonesia (all times local):

Indonesian police say based on reports from hospitals six people have died in rioting in Jakarta a day after the presidential election results were announced.

Police chief Tito Karnavian told a news conference authorities are still investigating the causes of death and are not ruling out the involvement of third parties acting as provocateurs.

He said the information police obtained showed victims were hit by gunshots or blunt devices. Karnavian said, "This is what we have to make clear, where and why."

Supporters of former special forces general Prabowo Subianto clashed with security forces in Jakarta on Wednesday, burning vehicles and throwing rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Police have said the rioting was planned rather than spontaneous. Subianto has refused to concede defeat to President Joko Widodo in the April 17 election. He instead declared himself the winner and plans a court challenge.

Indonesia's top security minister says authorities will block access to social media in certain areas amid violent protests in the capital Jakarta by supporters of the losing presidential candidate.

Wiranto, who uses a single name, didn't specify which areas would be subject to the restrictions in the televised news conference.

Supporters of Prabowo Subianto, who was defeated by President Joko Widodo in the April 17 election, clashed with security forces in Jakarta on Wednesday, burning vehicles and throwing rocks at police, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Police have said the rioting was planned rather than a spontaneous outburst. The official election results were announced on Tuesday and Subianto, a former general, has refused to concede defeat, instead declaring himself the winner and planning a court challenge.

Supporters of an unsuccessful presidential candidate clashed with security forces and set fire to a police dormitory in the Indonesian capital after the release of official election results.

National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said protests turned violent late Tuesday and continued during the night. He said Wednesday that dozens of people were detained.

KompasTV showed protesters throwing rocks, a paramilitary police dormitory on fire, and hundreds of riot police in a central neighborhood of the city.

Indonesia's Election Commission on Tuesday said President Joko Widodo had won a second term with 55.5% of the vote in the April 17 election. His opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto, has refused to accept the results and declared himself the winner. </s> (JAKARTA, Indonesia) — The official count from last month’s Indonesian presidential election shows President Joko Widodo won 55.5% of the vote, the Election Commission said Tuesday, securing him a second term.

The formal result from the April 17 election was almost the same as the preliminary “quick count” results drawn from a sample of polling stations on election day.

Widodo’s challenger for a second time, former general Prabowo Subianto, has refused to accept defeat and declared himself the winner last month.

Thousands of police and soldiers are on high alert in the capital Jakarta, anticipating protests from Subianto’s supporters.

Subianto has alleged massive election fraud in the world’s third-largest democracy but hasn’t provided any credible evidence. Votes are counted publicly and the commission posts the tabulation form from each polling station on its website, allowing for independent verification.

Counting was completed just before midnight and the Election Commission announced the results early Tuesday before official witnesses from both campaigns.

“We reject the results of the presidential election,” said Azis Subekti, one of the witnesses for Subianto. “This refusal is a moral responsibility for us to not give up the fight against injustice, fraud, arbitrariness, lies, and any actions that will harm democracy.”

Under Indonesia’s election law, Subianto can dispute the results at the Constitutional Court.

He and members of his campaign team have said they will mobilize “people power” for days of street protests rather than appeal to the court because they don’t believe it will provide justice.

In a video released after results were announced, Subianto again refused to concede defeat but called on supporters to refrain from violence.

Police this month have arrested 31 Islamic militants they say planned to set off bombs during expected street protests against the election result. </s> Confirmation of Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's reelection win has set off violence in Jakarta, where officials say at least six people died after protests morphed into riots in the capital. Widodo's challenger, former military general Prabowo Subianto, is refusing to concede the race.

Widodo, who has called for unity in the wake of the hotly contested election, said he will not tolerate rioting.

"There is no other option. The military and the police will carry out stern actions in accordance with the law," Jokowi said on Wednesday, according to The Jakarta Post.

The violence followed official confirmation from Indonesia's General Elections Committee that Widodo had won the April election with 55.5% of the vote, to Subianto's 44.5%. The result largely echoed preliminary vote estimates from last month's election. But now officials say they've tabulated the vote from more than 800,000 polling places in the large and predominantly Muslim country.

"It is the second time that Joko Widodo has beaten Prabowo Subianto," NPR's Julie McCarthy reports for our Newscast unit, "and the second time that Subianto has rejected the outcome. He claims massive fraud in the April 17 vote, but provides no evidence."

Subianto has said he wants to settle the election results in court. But his supporters clashed with police in Jakarta's streets, throwing rocks and setting fire to tires and vehicles. On the other side, police and security officers fired tear gas and what were reported to be rubber bullets.

As thousands of people protested in Jakarta for a second day, police blocked them from reaching an overpass — prompting protesters to gather beneath the bridge and hurl stones above.

In at least one case, images from the scene showed a firefighting helicopter being used to dump a huge bucket of water in an attempt to block the protesters' path.

At the Election Supervisory Agency's headquarters in Jakarta, protesters were met with riot police wearing helmets and full body armor Wednesday.

Demonstrators also congregated at the General Election Commission's office in Palu, where they waved red and white flags and shouted slogans as rows of security officers faced them from behind concertina wire, according to images from the scene.

In his bid to oust Widodo, Subianto ran a hard-line Muslim campaign, hoping to capitalize on religious conservatism's new momentum in Indonesia. As NPR's Merrit Kennedy has reported, "Subianto was the son-in-law of Indonesia's longtime dictator Suharto, who was ousted in 1998."

To counter Subianto, Widodo surprised some of his supporters by naming the powerful religious cleric Ma'ruf Amin, 76, to be his running mate. In the past, Amin has been criticized as being intolerant, including speaking out against LGBT rights. </s> Voters will decide between President Joko Widodo and former general Prabowo Subianto, and choose more than 20,000 legislators

This article is more than 4 months old

This article is more than 4 months old

Tens of millions of Indonesians have started voting for a new president and more than 20,000 legislative seats in the nation’s biggest – and one of the world’s most complicated – ballots.

In the world’s third-largest democracy and largest Muslim-majority nation, almost 193 million Indonesians are registered to vote across 17,000 islands. On Wednesday morning voting kicked off at 7am local time in restive Papua. It will end at 1pm in Sumatra.

Voters are flocking to more than 800,000 polling stations where they will punch holes in ballots – to make clear their candidate choice – and then dip a finger in halal ink, a measure to prevent double-voting.

Indonesia: 193m people, 17,000 islands, one big election. Here's what you need to know Read more

It is the first time Indonesia is holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections – a hugely complex logistical undertaking – but it is the presidential race that has consumed much of the nation’s focus.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a former mayor and furniture salesman from central Java, is up against the fiery nationalist and former army general Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo, the former son-in-law of Indonesia’s longtime ruler Suharto, is running with Sandiaga Uno, a former private equity manager, while the president controversially chose Ma’ruf Amin, 76, a conservative Islamic leader, as his vice-presidential running mate.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Indonesian election workers carry ballot boxes as they cross a river to deliver them to remote villages in Maros, South Sulawesi. Photograph: Daeng Mansur/EPA

In an election campaign that has been marred by fake news, identity politics and attempts by the candidates to outdo each other in displays of religiosity, Jokowi has for months maintained a double-digit lead over his opponent – if the the country’s most credible polls are to be believed.

“I’m excited, we only get to do this once every five years,” said Neneng Kursiah, 37, after completing her ballot at a Jakarta polling booth.

“We are for Prabowo in this area, we think he will bring prices of staple foods down and work hard,” said Firman, 42, a voter in Jakarta’s south, chimed in, “But if people want to vote for someone else that’s okay too.”

“Should be tight, maybe 50-50 said Bambang Sukanto, a local council worker at a different voting station, “So we are going to watch and make see.”

Contemplating whether one of the only true remaining democracies in south-east Asia could be prone to a political upset akin to Brexit, Trump or Duterte, analysts predict Indonesia is likely to buck global trends.

“I think Indonesia was ahead of the curve in that aspect of democracy because the anti-establishment outsider, Joko Widodo, won in 2014 already,” says an Indonesia analyst, Kevin O’Rourke. “Ironically, the incumbent is the outsider in this race, meanwhile Prabowo Subianto is not the outsider, or anti-establishment figure, he is a quintessential member of the elite.”

Jokowi’s 2014 win against Prabowo was hailed as a victory for Indonesia’s young democracy – the first time a figure untethered to the military or political elite had been elected head of state.

'Don't teach me democracy!': an uneasy audience with Indonesia's Prabowo Read more

As president, Jokowi has impressed voters with his commitment to building infrastructure and social welfare, but has drawn criticism for failing to address past human rights abuses and chronic corruption, and most recently for leveraging the state apparatus, including law enforcement agencies and Islamic groups, to solidify his support base.

Ayu Dyah Widarti, a volunteer for Jokowi, has spent her morning riding around on her bicycle, checking on the voting process at various polls in Jakarta’s south.

“People are enthusiastic, smiling, and it’s been smooth,” she says.

Ayu says she is strong supporter of the incumbent. “He has a vision, he in sincere, he works hard, hard, hard. He has high integrity and is honest. And he doesn’t have a problematic background, or any baggage,” she says,

“There is already evidence of his leadership, from when he was Solo mayor, Jakarta governor and also a president. He has built a lot of infrastructure and not just for Jakarta, but all over Indonesia, for all Indonesians.”

Some voters, disillusioned with the president and also the alternative, a former special forces commander accused of various human rights abuses, have vowed to “golput”, or abstain, in protest.

In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s vote, the opposition has claimed the integrity of the electoral list is undermined by the existence of millions of “ghost” voters – a move some analysts believe indicates they are laying the groundwork for a legal challenge if they lose.

There have been other hiccups, too. A video that circulated last week allegedly showed bags of ballot papers found in Malaysia that were pre-marked for Jokowi. There is also concern about rampant vote buying and the inundation of overseas polling stations in recent days, which have reportedly prevented hundreds from voting, have generated concern.

Indonesia’s electoral commission has pledged to investigate, and Wednesday’s election, a government-mandated national holiday, is expected to proceed peacefully and under the watchful eye of voters, thousands of whom plan to monitor the open-air count after the polls close.

The polls present a huge logistical challenge in a country stretching 4,800km across more than 17,000 islands, with a population of more than 260 million, home to hundreds of ethnic groups and languages.

Officials are moving cardboard ballot boxes by motorbikes, boats and planes – as well as elephants and horses – to reach mountaintop villages and communities deep in the jungle.

A series of so-called “quick counts” are expected to give a reliable indication of the presidential winner later on Wednesday. Official results are not expected until May. </s> Confirmation of Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's reelection win has set off violence in Jakarta, where officials say at least six people died after protests morphed into riots in the capital. Widodo's challenger, former military general Prabowo Subianto, is refusing to concede the race.

Widodo, who has called for unity in the wake of the hotly contested election, said he will not tolerate rioting.

"There is no other option. The military and the police will carry out stern actions in accordance with the law," Widodo said on Wednesday, according to The Jakarta Post.

The violence followed official confirmation from Indonesia's General Elections Committee that Widodo had won the April election with 55.5% of the vote, to Subianto's 44.5%. The result largely echoed preliminary vote estimates from last month's election. But now officials say they've tabulated the vote from more than 800,000 polling places in the large and predominantly Muslim country.

"It is the second time that Joko Widodo has beaten Prabowo Subianto," NPR's Julie McCarthy reports for our Newscast unit, "and the second time that Subianto has rejected the outcome. He claims massive fraud in the April 17 vote, but provides no evidence."

Subianto has said he wants to settle the election results in court. But his supporters clashed with police in Jakarta's streets, throwing rocks and setting fire to tires and vehicles. On the other side, police and security officers fired tear gas and what were reported to be rubber bullets.

As thousands of people protested in Jakarta for a second day, police blocked them from reaching an overpass — prompting protesters to gather beneath the bridge and hurl stones above.

In at least one case, images from the scene showed a firefighting helicopter being used to dump a huge bucket of water in an attempt to block the protesters' path.

At the Election Supervisory Agency's headquarters in Jakarta, protesters were met with riot police wearing helmets and full body armor Wednesday.

Demonstrators also congregated at the General Election Commission's office in Palu, where they waved red and white flags and shouted slogans as rows of security officers faced them from behind concertina wire, according to images from the scene.

In his bid to oust Widodo, Subianto ran a hard-line Muslim campaign, hoping to capitalize on religious conservatism's new momentum in Indonesia. As NPR's Merrit Kennedy has reported, "Subianto was the son-in-law of Indonesia's longtime dictator Suharto, who was ousted in 1998."

To counter Subianto, Widodo surprised some of his supporters by naming the powerful religious cleric Ma'ruf Amin, 76, to be his running mate. In the past, Amin has been criticized as being intolerant, including speaking out against LGBT rights. </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia — Supporters of an unsuccessful presidential candidate clashed with security forces and set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles in the Indonesian capital on Wednesday after the release of official election results.

National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said protests turned violent late Tuesday and continued through the night. He said Wednesday that dozens of people were detained.

KompasTV showed protesters throwing rocks, a paramilitary police dormitory on fire, and hundreds of riot police in a central neighborhood of the city.

Indonesia's Election Commission on Tuesday said President Joko Widodo had won a second term with 55.5% of the vote in the April 17 election.

His opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto, has refused to accept the results and declared himself the winner. His campaign plans to challenge the election in the Constitutional Court. They allege massive fraud but have provided no credible evidence.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw rocks, molotov cocktails and burning projectiles. </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Supporters of an unsuccessful presidential candidate clashed with security forces and set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles in the Indonesian capital on Wednesday after the release of official election results.

National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said protests turned violent late Tuesday and continued through the night. He said Wednesday that dozens of people were detained.

KompasTV showed protesters throwing rocks, a paramilitary police dormitory on fire, and hundreds of riot police in a central neighborhood of the city.

Indonesia’s Election Commission on Tuesday said President Joko Widodo had won a second term with 55.5% of the vote in the April 17 election.

His opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto, has refused to accept the results and declared himself the winner. His campaign plans to challenge the election in the Constitutional Court. They allege massive fraud but have provided no credible evidence.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw rocks, molotov cocktails and burning projectiles. </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia — Supporters of an unsuccessful presidential candidate clashed with security forces and set fire to a police dormitory and vehicles in the Indonesian capital on Wednesday after the release of official election results.

The situation turned violent late Tuesday when protesters tried to force their way into the offices of the election supervisory agency and clashes continued through the night, National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said. More than 20 suspected provocateurs were arrested, he said Wednesday.

KompasTV showed protesters throwing rocks, a paramilitary police dormitory on fire, and hundreds of riot police in a central neighborhood.

Indonesia’s Election Commission on Tuesday said President Joko Widodo had won a second term with 55.5% of the vote in the April 17 election.

Former special forces general Prabowo Subianto has refused to accept the results and declared himself the winner. His campaign plans to challenge the election in the Constitutional Court. They allege massive fraud but have provided no credible evidence.

Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said police used tear gas and water cannon against protesters who threw rocks, molotov cocktails and burning projectiles.

The government had deployed some 50,000 police and soldiers in Jakarta in anticipation of protests, said Yuwono. 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.

In the past week, authorities have arrested three pro-Subianto activists on suspicion of treason, said Prasetyo, including a retired general and former commander of Indonesia’s special forces. Police allege there was a plot to seize crucial government buildings in Jakarta. </s> Indonesia's Joko Widodo was on track to be re-elected as president of the world's third-biggest democracy Wednesday with pollsters giving him a wide lead over rival Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general.

Based on data collected at polling stations, Saiful Mujani Research Centre, Indo Barometer and Indikator Politik Indonesia said Widodo was holding a strong lead, although official results are not due until next month.

Saiful Mujani Research Centre said its "quickcount" measure put Widodo at 55.34% against his rival's 44.66%, Indo Barometer said the vote was at 55.36% to 44.64% in Widodo's favor, while Indikator Politik Indonesia put the race at 55.97% to 44.03%.

Voting appeared to go smoothly, though ballots weren't available at two districts in Jayapura, the capital of easternmost Papua province, where angry residents argued with police.

About 193 million people are eligible to vote in polls that will decide who leads the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation and third-largest democracy after India and the U.S.

The presidential race is set to be a rematch between incumbent President "Jokowi" Widodo, 57, from the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P) and Subianto, 67, from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Citizens will also elect members of the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council and provincial and municipal councils.

Titi Anggraini, executive director of election watchdog the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), said that previously, legislative elections were held first in April, followed by elections for president and vice president in July.

This time, however, voters coming to polling stations received five ballots at once: gray ballots for president and vice president, yellow ballots for the House of Representatives, red for the Regional Representative Council, blue for the Provincial Legislative Council and green for regency/city-level councils.

"It is not excessive to say that the 2019 elections are very monumental and historic elections for Indonesia," Titi told Anadolu Agency.

She said they are monumental because it will be a very large-scale but also historic election as this was something that had never occurred before in the course of Indonesia's electoral democracy.

"Of course, all parties want to be a part of this monumental and historic event," she added.

Known for his business in the furnishings sector, Widodo is from the Solo region on the island of Java.

Widodo's vice presidential candidate and one of the country's leading religious leaders, 76-year-old Ma'ruf Amin, was the chairman of the country's top clerical body, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Subianto, on the other hand, is a member of an elite family in the natural resources business. He used to be a general in the Indonesian Special Forces before entering politics in 2004 in the Golkar Party. He later founded Gerindra.

Both candidates first ran against each other in the 2014 presidential election, when Subianto lost by 6 percentage points to Widodo.

Opinion polls have consistently given a large lead of as much as 20 percentage points to Widodo, though analysts say the race is likely tighter.
Indonesia's General Elections Commission announces that incumbent President Joko Widodo has won last month's presidential election, with 55.5% of the vote. His rival Prabowo Subianto's team, however, refuses to sign and validate the results.