Most Indonesians are so over Prabowo Subianto’s claims to victory in the April 17th election (given that the same-day quick count results, and the ongoing real vote count, all predict a win of greater than 10% for President Joko Widodo) but as these videos show there are some Prabowo supporters out there who are so adamant of their candidates victory that they’re willing to clash with authorities over it.
These videos show a number of Prabowo supporters in the Cileungsi sub-district of Bogor Regency resisting attempts by the local Civil Service Police (Satpol PP) to take down a billboard-sized banner featuring photos of Prabowo and his running mate Sandiaga Uno as well as a message from the residents of Cileungsi thanking them for their victory.
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According to reports, the banner was hung on Sunday night on Jalan Raya Limusnunggal. Police officers tried to take it down yesterday afternoon — in accordance with regulations forbidding any banners, signs or other forms of celebration for either candidate’s victory before the official final vote count has been submitted by the General Election Commission (KPU) — but, as can be seen in the videos, their efforts met fierce resistance by Prabowo supporters.
Police continued to make efforts to persuade the crowd to let them do their jobs, but Prabowo supporters from other areas reportedly began arriving on the scene until police finally gave up for the day.
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Reports indicate that some Prabowo supporters continued guarding the banner today. Cileungsi police chief Kompol Asep told Detik today that the matter is now being handled by the Bogor Regency Police.
An official from the Election Supervisory Commission (Baswaslu) also said they were looking into the matter.
Prabowo himself urged his supporters to remain calm and not partake in any “anarchistic” action after he declared himself the winner of the election for the first time on April 17.
The KPU is required to finish their vote count on or before May 22. Prabowo and his campaign have urged their followers If all of the projections prove true and Prabowo loses, he may choose to challenge the results at the Constitutional Court, as he did unsuccessfully in 2014 the first time he lost to Jokowi. If he loses yet again, there’s no telling how his supporters, like those in the above videos, may react.
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