Prabowo's Rejection Could Hinder Reconciliation Chance

Depok, West Java (ANTARA News) - Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto's rejection of the presidential electoral process on Tuesday could eliminate the chance of reconciliation with his rival, Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, stated an observer.

"Both Prabowo and Jokowi should have sat together while looking forward to building the nation in a constructive manner after going through a long and laborious election process," University of Indonesia's Faculty of Social and Political Sciences lecturer Vishnu Juwono noted here on Wednesday.

Former general Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday rejected the presidential election process, alleging massive systematic fraud.

Prabowo remarked that the electoral process was problematic, undemocratic, and violated the Constitution, so he announced that his team was withdrawing from the General Elections Commissions recapitulation process.

He also accused the Election Commission of ignoring the recommendations of the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) regarding alleged irregularities.

"Therefore, we take a stand. We will use our Constitutional right to reject a flawed presidential election, and we are pulling out of the ongoing process," Prabowo announced.

But Vishnu Juwono, the observer from the University of Indonesia, noted that Prabowos withdrawal was very unfortunate because it could eliminate any chance of reconciliation.

Vishnu further added that Prabowos rejection of the electoral process will not affect its legitimacy if he failed to exercise his constitutional right by challenging the result in the Constitutional Court within three days of the General Elections Commissions recapitulation results.

He expressed hope that Prabowo and his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, and their supporters could accept the results of the presidential election to speed up the reconciliation process.

"Prabowo should help create a conducive political climate and give an opportunity to the president-elect, Joko Widodo, to deliver on his pre-election campaign promises," Vishnu reported.