The controversy prompted supporters of Prabowo Subianto, Widodo’s opponent, to call the election fraudulent, while the president’s camp dismissed the alleged fraud as a smear campaign aimed toward tarnishing his image.
Irawan Ronodipuro, the foreign affairs director of Prabowa’s election campaign, said the invention of the ballots showed that voter fraud was not “only a hoax” or attributable to “excessive fear.”
50,000 votes for Joko Widodo and ally present in diplomatic bags in Malaysia
50,000 votes for Joko Widodo and ally present in diplomatic bags in Malaysia
On Prabowa’s behalf, he demanded that Rusdi Kirana, the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia and Davin’s father, be stripped of his letters of credence.
Meanwhile, Widodo’s allies – including Masinton Pasiribu of the Indonesian Democratic Struggle Party and Irma Suryani Chaniago of the Davina Nasdem party – have responded, saying the scandal is an try and delegitimize the upcoming elections.
Irma said that if Davin is found guilty of any crime, he can be “struck off our list.”
However, on social media, Indonesians were quick to criticize the ambassador’s son for being a “completely happy, wealthy boy” who took advantage of his father’s power and influence.
Nepotism is common in Indonesia’s political system, where the little children of party figures often receive special treatment and run for political office despite their lack of experience.
Examples include Ravindra Airlangga, running as a candidate of the Golkar party, headed by his father Airlangga Hartarto, and Jessica and Valencia Tanoesoedibjo, candidates of the Indonesian Unity Party founded by their father Hary Tanoesoedibjo.
In the Prabowo versus Widodo case, we’re coping with Islamic statehood versus tolerance
Such favoritism is one reason why many citizens are reluctant to take part in the country’s young democracy – a practice known locally as abstention .
Bertha Dian, a 31-year-old from Bekasi, West Java, said the alleged voter fraud only reinforced her decision to not vote within the upcoming elections.
“This election could be one of the worst in our history. They said there would be no fraud and now it just happened. How and who can we trust?” she said.
