Wiranto challenges election result
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Bandung
Wiranto and running-mate Solahuddin Wahid filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court on Thursday, claiming that they lost 3.4 million votes due to inaccuracies and inconsistencies in vote- counting after the July 5 election.
They also requested a judicial review of a General Elections Commission (KPU) ruling declaring double-punctured ballots valid.
"We have filed a request with the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court to settle several inaccuracies in the poll results," Wiranto told a news conference on Thursday.
Later in the day, Wiranto's lawyers submitted the complaint to the Constitutional Court, while Wiranto held a private meeting with the court's president, Jimly Asshidiqie.
The complaint was received by court cleric Ahmad Fadlil Zumadi.
Lawyer Yan Djuanda said inaccurate vote-counting took place in 26 of the country's 32 provinces, including East Java, West Java, Yogyakarta, North Sulawesi and Bali.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won in East Java and Yogyakarta, while Megawati Soekarnoputri won in Bali and West Java.
Yan claimed that Wiranto lost 1,038,855 votes in West Java and 963 votes in South Sulawesi. Golkar, which nominated Wiranto, won in both West Java and South Sulawesi in the April 5 legislative election.
In the capital Jakarta, Wiranto, according to Yan, lost 348,878 votes, while in East and Central Java he lost 768,339 and 752,552 votes respectively.
"If the court accepts the complaint, Pak Wiranto will come second with 122,344 votes more than Megawati," Yan said.
According to the tally announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday, Wiranto garnered only 26.2 million votes, trailing behind Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who got 39.8 million, and Megawati Soekarnoputri with 31.5 million votes.
Article 68 of the Presidential Election Law stipulates that presidential candidates can file complaints with the Constitutional Court regarding the results of the election no later than three days after the election results are officially made public.
The Constitutional Court has to issue a final and binding verdict no later than 14 days after the complaints are submitted.
Wiranto said he had learned of the 3.4 million lost votes when scrutinizing election documents from eight provinces, including East Java, West Java, Banten and Lampung.
"The findings show a systematic pattern of violations," he said.
Wiranto said his camp hoped that the Supreme Court would issue a legal opinion on the issuance of a KPU circular issued on voting day.
The KPU hastily issued a circular on July 5 after learning that voters across the country had unintentionally punctured two holes in ballot papers.
According to the Presidential Election Law, double-punctured ballot papers are invalid. The KPU circular, however, declared doubled-perforated ballots valid if the punctures were on only one set of candidates.
"We can not accept the fact that a KPU circular can revised the law. We hope the Supreme Court will soon issue a fatwa," he said.
According to Wiranto, the KPU must recount the votes if the Supreme Court declared the commission's circular invalid.
He said the request was filed with the Supreme Court last Friday and the request to the Constitutional Court on Thursday.
He claimed that the issuance of the circular resulted in inconsistent vote-counting. Manipulation of votes occurred in several provinces, he said.
Separately, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leader Hidayat Nurwahid said in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday that his party would support a presidential candidate who rejected militarism, upheld the reform agenda and fought corruption.
Hidayat said his party was in intense talks with all presidential and vice presidential candidates.
"Since it's still in process, it would not be wise to announce anything publicly. We will extend our support to someone who upholds the reform agenda," Hidayat announced at Daarut Tauhid Islamic boarding school.