Protests Follow Announcement of Indonesian Election Results
By Jerome McDonnellProtests Follow Announcement of Indonesian Election Results
By Jerome McDonnellThe world’s third-largest democracy, Indonesia, held its parliamentary and presidential elections on April 17. Protests in Jakarta followed the announcement of election results this Tuesday. Voters re-elected incumbent president Joko Widodo, angering supporters of his opponent and long-time rival Prabowo Subianto. Subianto, a former general, has been backed by some hard-line Islamists, while Widodo is known to be more moderate. Widodo did, however, choose Islamic religious scholar and chairman of Indonesia’s Ulema Council Ma’ruf Amin, who has spoken against gay rights and played a role in the prosecution of a Christian politician for blaspheming Islam, as his running mate. Indonesian police confirmed six deaths as a result of the protests, with hundreds of injuries. A police spokesman said 62 people had been arrested. Joining us to for analysis is Jeffrey Winters. Winters is a professor of comparative politics and political economy at Northwestern University and founder and director of Northwestern’s Equality Development and Globalization Studies program.