JAKARTA, Indonesia: Indonesia’s top court heard appeals lodged by two losing presidential candidates who are demanding a revote, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud at the polls in appearances before the judges Wednesday.
Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto won the election with an overwhelming margin: 58.6 percent, or more than 96 million votes, according to the General Election Commission — more than twice the runner-up’s share in the three-way race.
But the losing candidates — Former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo — argue that the election was marred by irregularities throughout the campaign. They’re asking the Constitutional Court to annul the election results and order a revote, in separate lawsuits.
Both candidates presented parts of their cases in person, focusing on allegations that the court itself, as well as outgoing President Joko Widodo, bent laws and norms to support Subianto.
“We witness with deep concern a series of irregularities that have tarnished the integrity of our democracy,” Baswedan told the court.
Dozens of protesters held a peaceful but noisy rally near the court building, declaring that they would oversee the trial. Authorities blocked streets leading to the court where about 400 police were deployed in and around the building.
Indonesian presidents are expected to stay neutral in races to succeed them, but Subianto, a longtime former rival of Widodo who twice lost elections to him before joining his government, ran as his successor. He even chose Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as running mate, even though Raka did not meet a constitutional requirement that candidates be at least 40 years old.
Baswedan and Pranowo argue that Raka should have been disqualified, and are asking the court to bar him from a revote. Before the election, the Constitutional Court made a controversial exception to the minimum age that allowed him to run, under the leadership of then-chief justice Anwar Usman, who is Widodo’s brother in law. Usman was later forced to resign as chief justice for failing to recuse himself.
“The Constitutional Court was designed to guard the constitution and stem arbitrariness, not to legitimize fraud and crime,” said Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent lawyer who led Pranowo’s legal team, “This election is an opportunity for the Constitutional Court to reclaim its authority and dignity.”
Baswedan also said that regional officials were pressured or given rewards to influence political choices, and that state social assistance was used as “a transactional tool to help one of the candidates.”
Hefty social aid from the government was disbursed in the middle of the campaign — far more than the amounts spent during the COVID-19 pandemic — and Widodo distributed funds in person in a number of provinces.
“If we do not make corrections, the practices that occurred recently will be considered normal and become habits, then become culture, and ultimately become national character,” Baswedan said before the eight-judge panel.
Subianto himself twice went to the top court to challenge the results of elections he lost to Widodo, but the court rejected his claims as groundless both times. Subianto refused to accept the results of the 2019 presidential election, leading to violence that left seven dead in Jakarta.
Baswedan had the first turn before the court in the morning, while Pranowo spoke in the afternoon.
“What shocked us all, what really destroyed morale, was the abuse of power,” Pranowo told the court, “When the government uses all state resources to support certain candidates, when the security forces are used to defend personal political interests, then it is time for us to take a firm stand to reject all forms of intimidation and oppression.”
Chief Justice Suhartoyo, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, adjourned the hearing until Thursday, when Subianto and the General Election Commission will respond. The verdict, expected on April 22, cannot be appealed.
The case will be decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman, who is still on the court as an associate justice, is required to recuse himself.
Indonesia’s top court hears appeals from losing presidential candidates who want a revote
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Indonesia’s top court hears appeals from losing presidential candidates who want a revote
- Dozens of protesters held a peaceful but noisy rally near the court building, declaring that they would oversee the trial
IRS starts laying off 20,000 workers, eliminates civil rights office
- They come amid the busiest time of the year for the IRS
The US Internal Revenue Service began making sweeping cuts to its workforce on Friday, the agency’s leadership said in an email to staff on Friday, and among the first to go will be employees of its civil rights office.
Reuters previously reported that more than 20,000 staff would be cut, which a source familiar with Friday’s announcement confirmed, saying 20 percent-25 percent of the tax-collecting agency’s workforce would be targeted.
The start of the layoffs and the civil rights office’s elimination were first reported by the Washington Post.
The cuts are part of a major overhaul of the federal workforce that has already cost more than 200,000 workers their jobs. President Donald Trump has tasked billionaire Elon Musk with leading the reshaping and downsizing of the government.
“The IRS has begun implementing a Reduction in Force (RIF) that will result in staffing cuts across multiple offices and job categories,” an internal human resources email sent to all staff said on Friday.
The email said 75 percent of the agency’s civil rights office, previously called the office of diversity, equity and inclusion, will be cut and its remaining employees will move under a separate office.
Trump has passed executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives that he has labeled discriminatory. Civil rights groups have condemned the actions, saying DEI measures help in addressing historical and generational inequity.
The email said the mass layoffs would take place in phases.
They come amid the busiest time of the year for the IRS, with the filing deadline for most individual tax returns falling on April 15.
A week after catastrophic earthquake, focus turns to humanitarian crisis
- Myanmar’s military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared ceasefires in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid
BANGKOK: Search teams in Myanmar recovered more bodies from the ruins of buildings on Friday, a week after a massive earthquake killed more than 3,100 people, as the focus turns toward the urgent humanitarian needs in a country already devastated by a continuing civil war.
UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is also the emergency relief coordinator, will visit the area on Friday in an effort to spur action following the March 28 quake. Ahead of the visit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the international community to immediately step up funding for quake victims “to match the scale of this crisis,” and he urged unimpeded access to reach those in need.
“The earthquake has supercharged the suffering with the monsoon season just around the corner,” he said.
FASTFACT
Myanmar’s military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared ceasefires in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.
Myanmar’s military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared ceasefires in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.
But the UN’s Human Rights Office on Friday accused the military of continuing attacks, claiming there were more than 60 attacks after the earthquake, including 16 since the military announced a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday.
“I urge a halt to all military operations, and for the focus to be on assisting those impacted by the quake, as well as ensuring unhindered access to humanitarian organizations that are ready to support,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. “I hope this terrible tragedy can be a turning point for the country toward an inclusive political solution.”
Announcing its ceasefire, the military also said it would still take “necessary” measures against resistance groups, if they use the ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks, and the groups have said they reserved the right to defend themselves.
Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil war.
The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.
Myanmar authorities said Thursday that 3,145 people had been killed in the earthquake, with another 4,589 people injured and 221 missing, and did not immediately update the figures on Friday.
Britain, which had already given $13 million to purchase emergency items like food, water and shelter, pledged an additional $6.5 million in funds to match an appeal from Myanmar’s Disasters Emergency Committee, according to the UK Embassy in Yangon.
The World Food Program said so far it has reached 24,000 survivors, but was scaling up its efforts to assist 850,000 with food and cash assistance for one month.
Many international search and rescue teams are now on the scene, and eight medical crews from China, Thailand, Japan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia were operating in Naypyitaw, according to Myanmar’s military-run government. Another five teams from India, Russia, Laos and Nepal and Singapore were helping in the Mandalay region, while teams from Russia, Malaysia and the ASEAN bloc of nations were assisting in the Sagaing region.
The Trump administration has pledged $2 million in emergency aid and sent a three-person team to assess how best to respond given drastic cuts to US foreign assistance.
Rescuers search for a girl missing after boat disaster
- Turkish authorities had reported the sinking of a boat carrying migrants in the same area on Thursday
GREECE: Greece’s Coast Guard said on Friday that a search and rescue operation off an eastern island near the Turkish coast had still not found any trace of a child reported missing after a rubber dinghy carrying migrants sank, leaving seven people dead and 23 rescued.
The search continued for a second day, after survivors told authorities there had been a total of 31 people in the small dinghy.
A Coast Guard patrol boat came across the vessel, measuring about 5 meters in length, in the early hours of Thursday morning when it was already taking on water and most of its passengers had fallen into the sea, the coast guard said.
BACKGROUND
Greece is one of the main entry points into the EU for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The Coast Guard said on Thursday that all those on board were from Afghanistan.
One of the survivors, identified only as a 20-year-old man, was recognized by other passengers as having piloted the boat and was arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling.
Turkish authorities had also reported the sinking of a boat carrying migrants in the same area on Thursday.
The Canakkale governor’s office said the Turkish coast guard received an emergency call for help from a migrant boat on Thursday morning.
Nine bodies were recovered, while one person was reported missing, and 25 people were rescued, the governor’s office said.
Greece is one of the main entry points into the EU for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats.
Many are unseaworthy, or set out in bad weather, and fatal accidents have been common.
Senegal faces a challenging future, warns president
- The IMF said in March that there were “significant” errors in Senegal’s public debt figures for 2019-23 and called for “corrective measures”
DAKAR: Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has warned in his annual state of the nation speech that the country faces a challenging financial future that would need sacrifices.
Faye spoke after authorities and the International Monetary Fund said the previous government had underestimated the West African nation’s debt levels.
“The state of our country’s public finances, as revealed by the audit, means that we must count first of all on ourselves to redress the situation,” said Faye, who took office one year ago.
He said “collective sacrifices” would be needed but added: “We are very capable, and we will succeed with the mobilization of everyone.”
Social tensions have risen in recent months, and the government’s financial watchdog said in a report released in February that Senegal’s debt was at more than 99 percent of its gross domestic product, higher than the figure given by the last government.
It said the 2023 budget deficit was 12.3 percent of the GDP, when the last government said it was 4.9 percent.
The IMF said in March that there were “significant” errors in Senegal’s public debt figures for 2019-23 and called for “corrective measures.”
Faye called for “active solidarity” to confront the “numerous challenges” facing the country but said that “budget discipline is not negotiable.”
Unlikely Belgium would arrest Netanyahu, says PM
- “I don’t think there is a European country that would arrest Netanyahu if he were on their territory,” the Flemish conservative leader said
- “France, for example, wouldn’t do it. I don’t think we would either”
BRUSSELS: Belgium’s premier said the country would likely not arrest Benjamin Netanyahu despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister over the Gaza offensive.
Following a trip by Netanyahu to Hungary on Thursday in defiance of the warrant, Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever poured cold water on any expectations that other European nations would act differently.
“I don’t think there is a European country that would arrest Netanyahu if he were on their territory. France, for example, wouldn’t do it. I don’t think we would either,” the Flemish conservative leader said.
His comments in an interview Thursday with Flemish public broadcaster VRT referred to Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, which rolled out the red carpet for Netanyahu despite his arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Hungary, under its nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on the same day initiated the procedure to withdraw from the ICC.
But De Wever indicated that Belgium would not go so far as to pull out of the ICC, stressing his commitment to multilateralism and an international rules-based order.
Quizzed about the possibility of a plane carrying Netanyahu making an emergency landing in Belgium, De Wever first deemed it “highly unlikely,” and then said he doubted an arrest would be made in such a scenario.
One of Belgium’s opposition leaders hit out at the premier’s remarks.
“When an international arrest warrant is issued, when international justice speaks, Belgium must respond. Unambiguously,” said Paul Magnette, president of the French-speaking Belgian Socialist Party, arguing there was a “legal and moral obligation.”
Belgian human rights group CNCD 11.11.11 slammed De Wever’s comments as “unacceptable” and accused him of “undermining” international law.
