The transition of power has always been a daredevils job for nations. In some parts of the world its relatively calm, but in others, no one can truly predict how the things might pan out.
Joko “Jokowi” Widodo became president of Indonesia last month with 55% votes. His reign has started with extreme challenges.
Protestors are on the road, around six of them lost their lives and 200 wounded by Wednesday. The protestors are supporters of presidential candidate and former military general Prabowo Subianto. They are claiming rigged elections and fraud. Subianto’s supporter has denounced the election result.
20000 police were deployed on the second day of protests to subdue the situation. Major roads and public transport routes were shut in the center of the capital Jakarta. Thousands of protesters thronged near the Elections Oversight Body, Jalan Thamrin. The crowd grew within hours. Police are using rolls of barbed wire and heavy cement barricades to keep the mob away from Government offices.
One of the protestors traveled from Surabaya, about 800km from the Jakarta has reached the capital with friends. She said
“We are here because we want a president who is honest and fair, We don’t care who the president is,” she told Al Jazeera. “But as Indonesians, we must care about our elections and make sure they are just and valid.”
At 1:30 pm local time (05:30 GMT), the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Wiranto, announced a ban on social media sites in certain areas of Jakarta to stop the spread of fake news and rumors.