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  • Taiwan Legislators Vote to Broaden Their Powers, Defying President

    Taiwan Legislators Vote to Broaden Their Powers, Defying President

    (Bloomberg) — Taiwan legislators once again voted to broaden their powers to summon public authorities, defying both protesters and President Lai Ching-te, who is now anticipated to ask the Constitutional Court to evaluate the modifications and suspend their application.

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    Around 1,000 protesters collected outside the legislature throughout the vote. Organizers established chairs, camping tents and air coolers on an intense, hot day in the capital. Legislators voted on numerous legal modifications after having — at Lai’s demand — examined and disputed the modifications because Wednesday.

    The vote sets the phase for more fractious fights in between Lai and the opposition celebrations in the island at the heart of China-US stress. The opposition Kuomintang and its Taiwan Individuals’s Celebration allies state they wish to enhance analysis of the executive and public authorities. Critics argue that the modifications represent a power grab that weakens the separation of powers and are focused on thwarting the president’s program.

    The constitutionality of the legislation is still an unclear argument, according to Liao Dachi, emeritus teacher at Institute of Government of National Sun Yat-sen University. Still, she sees the modifications as efficiently empowering legislators, as the legal branch in Taiwan has actually been substantially weaker in capability compared to the executive branch — the presidency.

    While the DPP made history this year by winning its 3rd succeeding governmental election, it lost control of the legislature, and the vote Friday reveals Lai might have a hard time to enact his program in the face of a hostile parliament. Previously today, he revealed prepare for brand-new defense, healthcare and environment committees to assist press through his policies.

    Still, markets in Taiwan have actually been mainly unfazed by the political fight. That benchmark Taiex stocks gauge is set for a gain of more than 3.4% today, extending its record high.

    The Taiwan dollar is bit altered for the week, last trading at 32.360 versus the greenback.

    Challengers of the modifications today required to the streets once again for a three-day rally to accompany legislators’ evaluation of the legislation. Presentations have actually been serene, and likewise up until now smaller sized in scale compared to demonstrations when legislators initially voted on the modifications in Might.

    The federal government scheduled 500 law enforcement officers to be stationed outside the legislature in case of dispute in between advocates from various celebrations, the semi-official Central News Company reported.

    Civic groups arranging the demonstration state the legal modifications represent overreach by the legislature and democratic backsliding, while DPP lawmaker Puma Shen state they might require business being penetrated to reveal trade tricks.

    The KMT has actually implicated the Lai federal government of performing political battles because his inauguration on Might 20, and lawmaker Hung Mong-kai states the expense would assist hold the president responsible for his policies.

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  • Thailand’s progressive Progress celebration braces for lawsuit that may liquify it

    Thailand’s progressive Progress celebration braces for lawsuit that may liquify it

    BANGKOK (AP) — The previous leader of Thailand’s progressive opposition Progress celebration promised on Sunday to keep combating as the celebration deals with a lawsuit that might lead to its dissolution.

    The Constitutional Court has actually consented to rule on whether the celebration broke the constitution by proposing to change a law that prohibits maligning the nation’s royal household. The petition asked for the celebration’s dissolution and a 10-year restriction on political activity by its executives. The court has actually not stated when it will rule on this case.

    Pita Limjaroenrat, the previous leader of Progress, set out the information of the celebration’s legal defenses that have actually been sent to the court at a press conference on Sunday.

    “If there is a guideline of law in Thailand, I’m exceptionally positive” the celebration’s arguments will dominate, he stated.

    Pita stated the Constitutional Court does not have jurisdiction to rule on this case which the petition submitted by the Election Commission did not follow due procedure since Progress was not offered a chance to safeguard itself before the case was sent to the court.

    The petition was submitted after the very same court ruled in January that the celebration should stop promoting modifications to the law, referred to as Short article 112 in Thailand’s criminal codes, which secures the monarchy from criticism by enforcing charges of 3 to 15 years in prison per offense.

    That judgment did not set any penalty for the celebration.

    Progress shocked Thai politics by winning the most seats in the basic election in 2015 however was obstructed from taking power and has actually given that been combating numerous legal fights to keep its positions in Parliament. These legal cases are viewed as part of a yearslong attack versus the nation’s progressive motion by conservative forces attempting to keep their grip on power.

    Progress’s predecessor, the Future Forward celebration, was liquified by the Constitutional Court in 2020 for breaching election laws on contributions to political celebrations.

    Progress has actually firmly insisted that it wishes to keep the monarchy above politics and not be made use of as a political tool.

    Thailand’s monarchy is thought about untouchable however student-led pro-democracy demonstrations, activated by the dissolution of Future Forward in 2020, started to challenge that belief by honestly slamming the monarchy. That caused energetic prosecutions under the law, which critics state is typically utilized as a tool to quash political dissent.

    The advocacy group Thai Attorney for Person Rights states that given that early 2020, more than 270 individuals have actually been charged with breaching Short article 112. A few of those are Progress’s own legislators.

    Thailand’s courts, particularly the Constitutional Court, are thought about a bulwark of the nation’s standard royalist facility, which has actually utilized them and nominally independent state companies such as the Election Commission to release judgments to paralyze or sink political challengers.

    Pita cautioned that eliminating the nation’s biggest opposition celebration would suggest “an attack on democracy” as it would compromise the system of checks and balances on the federal government.

    “The strength of democracy is not about how robust the federal government is, however how reasonable and active the opposition is,” he stated.

    The Progress celebration completed initially in the 2023 basic election after marketing to change Short article 112 and present other democratic reforms. The success showed that numerous Thai citizens were prepared for modification after almost a years of military-controlled federal government.

    However the military-installed Senate obstructed the celebration from taking power by declining to validate Pita, who was the celebration’s prospect for prime minister. Senators stated they opposed Pita since of his objective to enact reforms to the monarchy.

  • Previous South African president Jacob Zuma slams leading court over election disqualification

    Previous South African president Jacob Zuma slams leading court over election disqualification

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Previous South African President Jacob Zuma on Thursday slammed the nation’s greatest court and his previous allies in the judgment African National Congress over his disqualification from next week’s election and stated he would defend his rights “in a disciplined method.”

    Zuma’s remarks can be found in a video message he stated was focused on individuals of South Africa and launched on social networks 6 days before the perhaps critical nationwide vote.

    The 82-year-old previous leader explained he would still project versus the ANC he when led in the run-up to Wednesday’s election with his brand-new political celebration, although he has actually been disallowed from standing as a prospect for a go back to Parliament 6 years after he resigned the presidency under a cloud of corruption accusations.

    Zuma was disqualified on Monday by the pinnacle Constitutional Court over an area of the constitution that states anybody who has actually been offered a jail sentence of 12 months or more without the alternative of a fine cannot stand for Parliament till 5 years after the sentence was finished. Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 2021 for contempt by the exact same court for declining to affirm at a query into corruption.

    Zuma cast himself as a victim of a prejudiced legal system and asked individuals of South Africa to “decide to remedy the wrongs of this nation.” It was not a require discontent, however, as he stressed “I desire peace. I desire equality. I desire liberty.”

    However his criticism of the greatest court might still be viewed as worrying for lots of South Africans who hold a lot their constitution, which ensured the liberty and rights of individuals of all races after completion of the apartheid system of forced partition. Zuma described the panel of Constitutional Court judges who ruled on his disqualification as “discovered pals” and stated they had actually limited his liberty and democracy.

    “I’ve taken a choice that I will continue battling … in various methods to encourage everybody that I am right. The discovered pals are not,” Zuma stated. “I will continue, in a disciplined method, to eliminate for my rights.”

    His alternatives to appeal his election disqualification are practically non-existent as the court that disallowed him is the greatest authority on the constitution.

    Zuma’s unexpected go back to politics late in 2015 with his freshly formed uMkhonto we Sizwe, likewise called MK Celebration, shook South African politics at a time when the ANC was particularly susceptible. The long-ruling celebration, which has actually remained in federal government considering that completion of apartheid in 1994, might lose its bulk for the very first time in this election.

    Experts anticipate Zuma’s brand-new celebration to additional deteriorate the ANC’s decreasing assistance in another blow to its possibilities of keeping its bulk, while Zuma has actually directed strong criticism at existing President Cyril Ramaphosa, the male who when worked as his deputy president. It has actually increased stress around an election that was currently viewed as the nation’s essential in thirty years.

    South African authorities have actually discovered to take Zuma’s impact seriously after his jailing in 2021 was followed by a week of rioting, robbery and burning in parts of Africa’s most innovative nation, resulting in more than 350 deaths. It was a few of the worst violence South Africa had actually seen considering that completion of apartheid.

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    AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

  • South Africa’s leading court guidelines previous President Zuma cannot stand in election over rap sheet

    South Africa’s leading court guidelines previous President Zuma cannot stand in election over rap sheet

    CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s greatest court ruled Monday that previous President Jacob Zuma is not enabled to stand as a prospect for Parliament in a nationwide election next week due to the fact that of a previous criminal conviction, a choice that’s most likely to increase political stress ahead of an essential vote.

    The Constitutional Court stated that an area of the constitution disqualifying individuals from meaning workplace if they have actually been sentenced to more than 12 months in jail without the alternative of a fine does use to the 82-year-old Zuma. Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail in 2021 by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court for declining to affirm at a judicial query into federal government corruption.

    The case over whether that sentence disqualified Zuma from the election happened due to the fact that he had no alternative to appeal the judgment by the pinnacle court that sent him to jail.

    Zuma was South African president from 2009-2018 however resigned under a cloud of corruption accusations. He made a return to politics in 2015 with a brand-new celebration and has actually been increasingly crucial of the judgment African National Congress celebration he as soon as led.

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    AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

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  • Indonesian constitutional court did not ‘ban presidential challengers from running for top job’

    Indonesian constitutional court did not ‘ban presidential challengers from running for top job’

    Indonesia’s constitutional court shot down challenges to Prabowo Subianto‘s victory in the country’s presidential election but did not ban his poll rivals from ever running for president again, contrary to claims made in an edited video viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media. Live footage of the constitutional court’s decision shows judges did not ban Prabowo’s rivals and the court’s written decisions also make no mention of a purported ban.

    “Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan are banned by the Constitutional Court from running for president in Indonesia ever again,” read Indonesian-language text on a TikTok video shared on April 23, 2024

    The video, which has more than 450,000 views, combines clips of the presidential candidates and their running mates reacting to a court ruling.

    One of the court’s judges appears to say the candidates — referring to them by their candidate numbers — are “not allowed to run in the Indonesian presidential election ever again“.

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    Screenshot of the false TikTok video, captured on April 29, 2024

    The video was also posted elsewhere on TikTok here and here, as well as on Facebook, YouTube and video-sharing platform SnackVideo, racking up more than 18.6 million views in total.

    It was shared a day after Indonesia’s constitutional court rejected challenges to Prabowo’s victory that were filed by his two main rivals, who alleged state interference and rule changes that supported his ticket.

    Anies and Ganjar filed lawsuits in March 2024, demanding a re-run of the February 2024 election — in which Prabowo won nearly 60 percent of the vote.

    Following the court’s decision, Indonesia’s election commission formally declared Prabowo the country’s next president.

    But the constitutional court did not also ban Anies and Ganjar from ever running for president again.

    Court rulings

    A keyword search on YouTube led to a live stream of the constitutional court handing down its decisions, which was published on local broadcaster Kompas TV’s official channel on April 22 (archived link).

    The clip of Anies and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar corresponds to the 4:24:43 mark of the Kompas TV video.

    The clip of Ganjar and his running mate Mahfud MD corresponds with footage shown at the video’s 4:52:21 mark.

    Below is a screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the Kompas TV footage (top and bottom right):

    <span>Screenshot comparisons of the false post (left) and the Kompas TV footage (top and bottom right)</span><span><button class=

    Screenshot comparisons of the false post (left) and the Kompas TV footage (top and bottom right)

    Part of the audio heard in the false TikTok video was taken from between the Kompas TV footage’s 4:50:48 and 4:51:13 marks.

    It then jumps to audio used between the Kompas TV video’s  4:51:29 and 4:51:42 marks.

    This audio is of constitutional justice Arsul Sani explaining why the court is rejecting Anies and Ganjar’s challenges about alleged violations of election campaign rules.

    The false post then inserts the voice of someone imitating a judge, saying that Anies and Ganjar were now banned from running for the presidency again.

    But at no point in the live footage carried by Kompas TV did a judge “ban” Anies and Ganjar.

    The court’s written decisions here and here also make no mention of Anies and Ganjar being banned from ever running for the top office again (archived links here and here).

    AFP has debunked other false claims related to the 2024 Indonesian election here.

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  • Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president-elect after court rejects rivals’ appeal

    Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president-elect after court rejects rivals’ appeal

    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s electoral commission formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect in a ceremony on Wednesday, after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates.

    Subianto, who is currently defense minister, won the election with 58.6% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by either of the other two candidates. But his rivals alleged that his victory had depended on large-scale fraud and widespread state interference.

    Authorities blocked streets leading to the General Election Commission compound, where more than 4,200 police and soldiers were deployed. Wearing matching long-sleeved white shirts, Subianto and vice president elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka waved to their supporters as they arrived at the building.

    “The race has finished … the tough contest, with sometimes heated debates, is over,” Subianto said during the ceremony, attended by the country’s political elite, including rival candidate Anies Baswedan and his running mate Muhaimin Iskandar. “And now our people demand that political leaders must work together and collaborate for the people’s welfare and to eliminate poverty and corruption in Indonesia,” Subianto said.

    Subianto will take office in October, succeeding the popular Joko Widodo, the country’s first president from outside the Jakarta elite.

    The General Election Commission certified the election results on March 20, but the formal declaration ceremony was put on hold following legal challenges from rival candidates, former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo, who sought to annul the result and demand a revote.

    They also alleged nepotism, challenging the candidacy of outgoing President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Raka, as Subianto’s running mate.

    Baswedan and Pranowo argued that Raka, 37, should have been disqualified because the minimum age for candidates is 40, and they asked the court to bar him from a revote. Before the election, Raka was granted a controversial exception to that requirement by the Constitutional Court, which was then led by Anwar Usman, Widodo’s brother-in-law. Usman was later forced to resign as chief justice for failing to recuse himself.

    In a 5-to-3 decision, the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments on Monday, saying the legal teams of the losing candidates had failed to prove allegations that Subianto’s victory was the result of widespread fraud. That verdict cannot be appealed.

    The case was decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman, who is still on the court as an associate justice, was required to recuse himself.

    Baswedan and Iskandar conceded and congratulated Subianto and Raka shortly after the Constitutional Court’s decision was read out on Monday, saying they are committed to maintaining the principle of peaceful transfer of power and that “we choose to be part of continuing to build the quality of Indonesian democracy.”

    Pranowo and his running mate, Mohammad Mahfud, also congratulated Subianto.

    “We accept and fully respect the decision of the Constitutional Court,” Pranowo said, “Like or dislike, we have to accept it because it’s final, legal and binding.”

    A longtime commander in Indonesia’s Kopassus special forces, Subianto was discharged from the military in 1998 after Kopassus soldiers tortured activists who opposed dictator Suharto, his father-in-law. He never faced a trial and vehemently denies any involvement, although several of his men were tried and convicted.

    He went into self-exile in Jordan before returning and founding the Gerindra Party in early 2008.

    In the past, he worked closely with hard-line Islamists to undermine his opponents and previously made three bids for the presidency, twice unsuccessfully challenging his own losses to Widodo.

    Subianto’s refusal to accept the results of the 2019 presidential election led to violence that left nine people dead in Jakarta, but he joined the cabinet after Widodo offered him the defense ministry in a bid for unity.

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    Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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  • Prabowo Subianto seals victory as Indonesia’s next leader after a top court rejects rivals’ appeals

    Prabowo Subianto seals victory as Indonesia’s next leader after a top court rejects rivals’ appeals

    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top court on Monday rejected appeals lodged by two losing presidential candidates who are demanding a revote, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud at the February polls.

    The 5-to-3 majority decision by the eight-judge panel of the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments, saying the legal teams of the losing candidates had failed to prove allegations that Prabowo Subianto’s victory was the result of widespread fraud.

    The Court “rejects the petitioner’s appeal entirely,” Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo said Monday, after a panel of eight judges took a marathon six hours to publicly read its reasoning in turn on both separate appeals. The verdict cannot be appealed.

    The General Elections Commission, known as KPU, had certified a landslide victory for president-elect Subianto, but his rivals, former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan and former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo alleged that the victory had depended on large-scale fraud and widespread state interference.

    They also alleged nepotism, challenging the candidacy of outgoing President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as Subianto’s running mate.

    Baswedan and Pranowo argued that Raka, 37, should have been disqualified because the minimum age for candidates is 40, and they asked the court to bar him from a revote. Before the election, Raka was granted a controversial exception to that requirement by the Constitutional Court, which was then led by Anwar Usman, Widodo’s brother-in-law. Usman was later forced to resign as chief justice for failing to recuse himself.

    The case was decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman, who is still on the court as an associate justice, was required to recuse himself.

    Subianto, the current defense minister, won the election with 58.6% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots — more than twice the number received by each of the two runners-up, according to the KPU.

    The losing candidates accused Widodo of widespread abuse of power, saying he used officials at every level, ranging from cabinet members to village heads, and state policies such as social aid programs, to provide support for Subianto and Raka. Indonesian presidents are expected to remain neutral in elections to succeed them.

    Baswedan and Pranowo’s legal challenges complained that 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.

    But the top court dismissed the charges, saying it was not convinced that the president had intervened to change the requirements for candidates in favor of his son and that he did not commit nepotism when he approved and supported his son’s candidacy for vice president.

    “A position obtained through general elections cannot be qualified as a form of nepotism,” judge Arief Hidayat said.

    The court found that there was no proof that Widodo and his administration bent laws and norms to support Subianto. The decision was widely expected after four Indonesian Cabinet members testified in the court in April 5, that no rules were violated in the distribution of government aid.

    However, in a dissenting opinion, judge Saldi Isra said it was impossible to deny that social assistance was disbursed in the middle of the campaign for electoral purposes is impossible.

    “I have a moral obligation to warn in order to anticipate and prevent a repetition of similar situations in the future,” Isra said.

    Hundreds of protesters who had gathered near the court melted away as the broadcast of proceedings on a TV screen outside indicated their candidate’s case was unsuccessful.

    Subianto, who was linked to human rights abuses during the authoritarian rule of Suharto, previously made four bids for the presidency and twice unsuccessfully challenged his losses to Widodo. His refusal to accept the results of the 2019 presidential election led to violence that left nine people dead in Jakarta.

    Widodo, the first Indonesian president from outside the Jakarta elite who is widely popular, will end his second and final term in office in October.

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  • Indonesia court to rule on petitions seeking presidential election re-run

    Indonesia court to rule on petitions seeking presidential election re-run

    By Ananda Teresia

    JAKARTA (Reuters) – A court in Indonesia will on Monday deliver its verdict on two challenges to the outcome of February’s presidential election, after losing candidates petitioned for a re-run and alleged the state had interfered in favour of winner Prabowo Subianto.

    The two rivals of Defence Minister and former special forces commander Prabowo have both asked the Constitutional Court to disqualify him from a contest he won by a huge margin, arguing widespread distribution of social aid in key areas had swayed the vote in his favour.

    Prabowo, who won 58% of the votes, has dismissed that as baseless.

    Former governors Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo also alleged tacit support from the hugely popular President Joko Widodo had gifted Prabowo an unfair advantage, as did the inclusion of the outgoing leader’s son as his running mate, owing to the same court’s decision to change eligibility rules.

    Anies and Ganjar, who won about 25% and 16% of votes respectively, have argued Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 36, should not have been allowed to run as Prabowo’s vice-presidential candidate and should also be disqualified.

    The October decision by the Constitutional Court, which at the time was headed by the president’s brother-in-law, changed a rule on the minimum age of candidates just a few days ahead of registration, which enabled Gibran to join Prabowo’s ticket.

    The chief justice was reprimanded by an ethics panel for intentionally allowing “intervention from an external party”, which it did not name. He was later barred from taking part in election-related cases.

    Prabowo and the outgoing administration of Jokowi, as the president is known, have rejected all allegations of interference. Cabinet ministers during the court hearings denied social aid was deployed for political purposes.

    Jokowi came under intense intense scrutiny in the run-up to the election, with allegations from critics that he abused his position to favour Prabowo, with the aim of preserving his legacy after a decade in charge of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

    Former Jakarta governor Anies has warned of a democratic backslide in Indonesia, saying the country, which was ruled for 32 years by the late strongman Suharto until his fall in 1998, was at risk of returning to its authoritarian past.

    According to some legal experts, the court could dismiss the complaints altogether, order elections be held again in certain areas, or hold a new nationwide ballot without Prabowo and Gibran, as both Anies and Ganjar have sought.

    The latter would be highly unlikely, according to some analysts.

    “The decision to include Gibran was issued by the Constitutional Court, so it’s unlikely the court will contradict its previous decision,” said Titi Anggraini, a legal expert from the University of Indonesia.

    (Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by Martin Petty)

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  • Manipulated video falsely claims top Indonesia court void Prabowo’s presidential win

    Manipulated video falsely claims top Indonesia court void Prabowo’s presidential win

    Days after Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto was declared the winner of Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election, online posts shared manipulated footage they falsely claimed showed the country’s Constitutional Court ruling his candidacy as invalid and ordering a revote. In the doctored video, the voice of a lawyer was dubbed into the video of the chief justice. Complaints challenging Prabowo’s victory were filed before the court, but it had not ruled on the cases as of April 8, 2024.

    The false post was uploaded on social media platform X on March 29, 2024, where it has been shared more than 980 times.

    Ruling from @officialMKRI / Disqualify 02 and revote without @prabowo @gibran_tweet,” said the post’s caption, tagging the accounts of the Indonesian Constitutional Court, president-elect Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

    The post included two clips — with a total duration of more than three minutesthat showed Indonesian Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo talking in a courtroom. He appeared to be saying: “Third, declare the disqualification of president and vice presidential candidate pair number 02 in the names of Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the candidates of the 2024 president and vice presidential election of the Republic of Indonesia.”

    Indonesian-language text overlaid on the clips partly read: “People’s wish is granted. Listen carefully to the Constitutional Court’s ruling so that you won’t misunderstand.”

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    Screenshot of the false post, taken on April 4, 2024

    Similar videos were also shared on TikTok here and here, and on SnackVideo and Facebook, racking up more than 58,000 views and 1,600 shares.

    The posts circulated days after the Indonesian Constitutional Court began hearing election appeals of two losing presidential candidates, Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, on March 27, 2024 (archived links here and here).

    A week earlier, on March 20, the Indonesian General Elections Commission (KPU) officially declared Prabowo and Gibran, the eldest son of outgoing leader Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as the winners of the presidential vote.

    Anies and Ganjar challenged the election result before the court, alleging that rules were unfairly changed to allow Gibran to run as vice president and that Jokowi used state resources to swing the vote in favour of his minister and son (archived link).

    In October 2023, the Constitutional Court, then headed by Jokowi’s brother-in-law, Anwar Usman, issued a ruling that allowed candidates under 40 years old to run if they have been elected to a political position.

    This enabled Gibran, the 36-year-old mayor of Surakarta, a city in central Java, to pair up with Prabowo.

    However, the clips shared in the posts were manipulated by dubbing Suhartoyo’s video with the voice of Anies’ lawyer. 

    The Constitutional Court had not ruled on the legal challenges to Prabowo and Gibran’s election victory, as of April 8, 2024.

    According to an official document, the court is scheduled to deliver the judgment on April 22 (archived link).

    Doctored footage

    A keyword search on the Constitutional Court’s official YouTube channel found the clips shared in the false post correspond from the 10:14 mark of live footage streamed on March 27, 2024 (archived link).

    The video was titled: “Hearing of Case Number 1/PHPU.PRES-XXII/2024. Wednesday, March 27, 2024.”

    In the video, Chief Justice Suhartoyo could be seen presiding over a preliminary hearing of Anies’ presidential election dispute case.

    His voice was different from the one heard in the false videos.

    Below are screenshot comparisons of the manipulated videos (left) and the original footage from the court (right):

    <span>Screenshot comparisons of the manipulated videos (left) and the original footage from the court (right)</span><span><button class=

    Screenshot comparisons of the manipulated videos (left) and the original footage from the court (right)

    A separate keyword search found the audio that had been dubbed in the false clips was taken from the same live-stream footage.

    The audio matched the 1:46:06 to the 1:49:09 marks of the original video, when one of Anies’ lawyers, Bambang Widjojanto, was reading their petitions to the court.

    The demands from Anies’ legal team was also aired by local broadcaster Metro TV on March 27, 2024 (archived link).

    AFP has debunked other false and misleading claims around the Indonesian elections here.

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  • Thailand’s Constitutional Court says it will rule on whether to dissolve popular Move Forward party

    Thailand’s Constitutional Court says it will rule on whether to dissolve popular Move Forward party

    BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday said it will rule on whether to dissolve the political party that won the most seats in last year’s election for allegedly violating the constitution by proposing to amend a law against defaming the country’s royal family.

    The court said it had accepted a petition from the state Election Commission to hear the case against the Move Forward party after finding there was enough evidence, and instructed the party to submit evidence on its own behalf within 15 days.

    It said the petition requested the party’s dissolution and a 10-year ban on political activity by the party’s executives.

    The court’s decision is the latest move in what is seen as a yearslong attack against the country’s progressive movement by conservative forces trying to keep their grip on power. Move Forward’s predecessor, the Future Forward party, was dissolved by a Constitutional Court ruling in 2020 for violating election laws on donations to political parties. The dissolution was one of the triggers for youth-led pro-democracy protests that sprung up across the country in 2020.

    Those protests pushed the boundary for the progressive movement even further by openly criticizing the monarchy and demanding its reform, a subject that was previously taboo. It led to vigorous prosecutions under the law against defaming the monarchy, which Move Forward had campaigned to have amended.

    Party leader Chaithawat Tulathon told reporters after Wednesday’s court announcement that the party has been preparing for the case and will seek to prove its innocence. He said the verdict could come within weeks, and the party will hold a news conference then to explain its position.

    The same court already ruled in January that the party must stop advocating changes to the law, known as Article 112, that protects the monarchy from criticism by imposing penalties of up to 15 years in jail per offense. That ruling did not set any punishment for the party.

    Move Forward came under multiple legal attacks following its election victory. Pita Limjaroenrat, the party’s former leader, was suspended from Parliament after being accused of violating the election law for owning shares in a media company. He argued he was holding an insignificant number of shares merely as an executor of his late father’s estate. Pita resumed his parliamentary duties in January after the Constitutional Court cleared him of the charge.

    Thailand’s courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are considered a bulwark of the country’s traditional royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent state agencies such as the Election Commission to issue rulings to cripple or sink political opponents.

    The Move Forward party finished first in the 2023 general election after campaigning to amend Article 112 and introduce other democratic reforms. The victory indicated that many Thai voters were ready for change after nearly a decade of military-controlled government.

    But the military-installed Senate blocked the party from taking power by refusing to agree to Pita’s selection as prime minister. Senators said they opposed Pita because of his intention to enact reforms to the monarchy.

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  • Thai court accepts case seeking to disband opposition Move Forward Party

    Thai court accepts case seeking to disband opposition Move Forward Party

    By Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat

    BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday said it had accepted a case seeking the dissolution of the opposition Move Forward Party, in another blow to a popular anti-establishment movement pushing major institutional reforms in the country.

    The court agreed to take on the complaint filed by the election commission asking to disband Move Forward for its controversial campaign to reform a law that shields the powerful monarchy from criticism, under which at least 260 people have been prosecuted in the past few years.

    The case came after a January ruling by the same court that found Move Forward’s plan to amend the law was unconstitutional and tantamount to an attempt to overthrow the system of government with the king as head of state. Move Forward has rejected that.

    Move Forward pulled off a stunning feat in winning last year’s election but was blocked from forming a government by lawmakers allied with the royalist military. It is the biggest party in the lower house with about 30% of seats.

    Its platform of institutional reform resonated among young and urban voters, including a plan to amend the law protecting the crown, which carries a punishment of up to 15 years jail for each perceived insult of the royal family.

    Thailand’s monarchy is constitutionally enshrined to be held in a position of “revered worship” and many royalists see the law as sacrosanct. The palace typically does not comment on the law, which is among the strictest of its kind in the world.

    If the court rules against Move Forward, it faces dissolution and lengthy political bans for the its leadership, the same fate suffered by predecessor, Future Forward, after it was dissolved in 2020 over a campaign funding violation.

    A similar complaint has also been filed with a Thai anti-graft body seeking life bans for 44 of the party’s current and former lawmakers.

    Move Forward’s agenda and bid to curtail business monopolies has threatened to upend Thailand’s conservative status quo, and led to a once-unthinkable governing alliance between the populist Pheu Thai and parties backed by its bitter enemies in the military.

    Activists say the lese-majeste law has been used to smear progressives and stifle institutional reforms. Move Forward has argued its campaign sought to strengthen the constitutional monarchy and prevent the law from being misused.

    Its former prime ministerial hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat last month told Reuters his party would “fight tooth and nail” for its future amid efforts to bring down the party, which he said showed paranoia by Thailand’s conservative establishment over its push for reforms.

    (Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)

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  • Indonesia’s top court begins hearing election appeals of 2 losing candidates alleging fraud

    Indonesia’s top court begins hearing election appeals of 2 losing candidates alleging fraud

    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top court began hearing appeals Wednesday against the presidential election results lodged by two losing candidates who allege widespread irregularities and fraud at the polls, demanding a revote.

    The Feb. 14 presidential election results were announced March 20. The winner, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, received more than 96 million votes, or 58.6%, according to the General Election Commission, known as KPU.

    Former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, who received nearly 41 million votes, or 24.9%, filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court on March 21, a day after the official results announcement. Another candidate, former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo, who was backed by the governing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, received the smallest share of votes at 27 million, or 16.5%. His legal team filed a complaint to the court on March 23.

    Baswedan’s lawsuit claimed that irregularities occurred before, during and after the election that resulted in Subianto’s victory, and his legal team will reveal its evidence and arguments in the court hearings.

    Subianto chose as his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of the popular outgoing president Joko Widodo. The Constitutional Court had made an exception to the minimum age requirement of 40 for candidates. Baswedan and Pranowo both criticized 37-year-old Raka’s participation in the election.

    Anwar Usman, who was the court’s chief justice when the exception was made, is Widodo’s brother-in-law. An ethics panel later forced Usman to resign for failing to recuse himself and for making last-minute changes to the candidacy requirements, but allowed him to remain on the court as long as he does not participate in election-related cases.

    The election complaints were heard separately Wednesday by the court, where Baswedan had the first turn in the morning and Pranowo was slated in the afternoon.

    “We witness with deep concern a series of irregularities that have tarnished the integrity of our democracy,” Baswedan told the court. He specifically pointed to the court’s decision allowing Raka to run despite the previously established criteria.

    He said there are also disturbing practices where regional officials are pressured or given rewards to influence the direction of political choices, as well as misuse of the state’s social assistance, which is actually intended for people’s welfare, “is instead used as a transactional tool to win one of the candidates.”

    “If we do not make corrections, the practices that occurred yesterday will be considered normal and become habits, then become culture and ultimately become national character,” Baswedan said before the eight-judge panel. “The Indonesian people are waiting with full attention, and we entrust all this to the Constitutional Court who is brave and independent to uphold justice.”

    The verdict, expected on April 22, cannot be appealed. It will be decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman is required to recuse himself.

    In the past two elections, the Constitutional Court has rejected Subianto’s bids to overturn Widodo’s victories and dismissed his claims of widespread fraud as groundless. Subianto refused to accept the results of the 2019 presidential election, which pitted him against Widodo, leading to violence that left seven dead in Jakarta.

    Widodo has reached his term limit and could not run again this year. He has faced criticism for throwing his support behind Subianto, who has links to alleged human rights abuses. Indonesian presidents are expected to remain neutral in elections to replace them.

    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. Widodo distributed funds in person in a number of provinces, in a move that drew particular scrutiny.

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  • Indonesia presidential runner-up alleges widespread fraud as he contests official election results

    Indonesia presidential runner-up alleges widespread fraud as he contests official election results

    JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A runner-up in Indonesia’s presidential election filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court on Thursday, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud at the polls.

    Former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, who received nearly 41 million votes, or 24.9%, told reporters that by contesting the official results he hoped to improve the election process in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest democracy.

    His lawyer said they hoped for a revote.

    “We want to emphasize that what we have experienced and witnessed — and what the media and public have seen — is that there were many problems in this election process, from its policy and regulations to its execution,” Baswedan said.

    The election winner, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, received more than 96 million votes, or 58.6%, in the Feb. 14 polls, according to final results released by the Election Commission late Wednesday. Subianto was accused of human rights abuses under a past dictatorship and chose the son of the popular outgoing president as his running mate.

    A third candidate, former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo, received 27 million votes, or 16.5%, the commission said. It posted results from polling stations on its website to allow for independent verification.

    Baswedan’s lawyers and members of his campaign team were shown in television news reports on Thursday filing the challenge at the court, with a large number of documents they said showed evidence of fraud.

    Ari Yusuf Amir, the head of Baswedan’s legal team, said the irregularities began with outgoing President Joko Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who was allowed to run for vice president with Subianto. The Constitutional Court made an exception to the minimum age requirement of 40 for candidates. Raka is 37.

    “His candidacy had a tremendous impact,” Amir told a news conference after registering the challenge with the Constitutional Court.

    Anwar Usman, who was the court’s chief justice when the exception was made, is Widodo’s brother in law. An ethics panel later forced Usman to resign for failing to recuse himself and for making last-minute changes to the candidacy requirements, but allowed him to remain on the court as long as he does not participate in election-related cases.

    Baswedan’s lawyers also say the government helped Subianto and Raka by intimidating the heads of villages across the country and by disbursing government social aid during the election to persuade voters to cast ballots for them.

    “If our argument is accepted by the court’s justices, we hope that a revote will be held without the problematic vice presidential candidate participating,” Amir said. “Let us fight honestly, fairly and freely.”

    Constitutional Court spokesperson Fajar Laksono Suroso said Baswedan’s case would be heard by April 22 and that the verdict would come on May 7. The ruling cannot be appealed. It will be decided by eight justices instead of the full nine-member court because Usman is required to recuse himself.

    Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent lawyer who represents the other election contender, Pranowo, said his team would file their own complaints before the deadline for candidates to register for disputes at midnight on Saturday.

    He told reporters on Thursday that his team would bring about 30 witnesses to testify before the court. Lubis previously said his team has had difficulty getting witnesses to agree to testify in court because some of them were intimidated by authorities.

    He acknowledged that successfully challenging an election result with such a wide margin of victory would be difficult.

    “We are not rejecting elections, but we want to improve and correct mistakes in the election process,” Lubis said.

    Widodo has faced criticism for throwing his support behind Subianto. The outgoing president distanced himself from his own party and made a series of actions seen as efforts to boost Subianto’s campaign. Indonesian presidents are expected to remain neutral in elections to replace them.

    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. Widodo distributed funds in person in a number of provinces, in a move that drew particular scrutiny.

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